Adam Dudzinski, 17, apologised to his girlfriend Chloe-Ann Naylor, 16, moments before they both drowned after a car crash in Kent. The couple died when the blue Ford Fiesta Adam was driving ended up upside down in a drainage ditch full of water near Sittingbourne.
Inquest hears final moments
An inquest this week heard that Adam said "I am sorry, I am so sorry" as Chloe tried to keep his head above water. The pair died by drowning. A third teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, escaped with significant injuries.
Her father used the Live 360 mobile phone app to track her location. Although the app stopped sending information, he went to the final co-ordinates and discovered the partly submerged vehicle just before midnight on January 3.
No licence or insurance
Coroner Ian Potter heard that Adam, a Sainsbury's worker, did not have a driving licence and was uninsured. He was driving the two girls to Chloe's home in Sittingbourne after they had been at his house.
He lost control at a sharp bend on a dark remote country road. The vehicle veered off the road, flipped upside down and landed in the ditch. Chloe tried to call emergency services and her mum, but the calls did not connect.
Survivor's account
In her police statement, the friend who was in the back seat said Adam had been driving fast but was not speeding, and although he tried to slow down, he did not brake in time for the bend. She said she was preparing herself to drown and that Chloe tapping her on the leg "gave her courage" to undo her seat belt.
Investigators found no evidence of speeding, but Adam was likely going too fast for the conditions. Officers attempted to press charges against his legal guardian for permitting unlicensed and uninsured driving, but the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence.
Tributes and fundraising
Floral tributes were left at the scene, and more than £15,000 was raised in two GoFundMe fundraisers for the families. Recording accidental death verdicts, Coroner Ian Potter said: "This is a very tragic state of circumstances and I cannot begin to imagine what the three families have been through."
