A HEARTBROKEN family are hoping their story will help tackle the tragic loss caused by speeding young drivers.

Codie Richardson, who was serving in the army, was killed when the car she was travelling in left the road and hit two trees when her friend lost control driving through Catterick Garrison last February.

The Northern Echo:

Pte Richardson, 20, and her friend, Trooper Mark McKeen, 23, from Northern Ireland, both died in the accident on Leyburn Road.

Now her stepfather Gary Muir has joined forces with North Yorkshire Police to create a hard-hitting video describing their loss and the emotional impact it had on them.

The video has been uploaded onto Youtube in an attempt to force the message home that speeding kills.

Mr Muir said: “I know that we can never bring Codie back but if we can do anything that will prevent any other family going through the grief that we as a family has, it will be worth it.

“We just hope that as many people as possible watch the video and see how Codie’s death has affected everyone in her family.”

Tpr McKeen had been driving a Seat Ibiza at 83mph in the 40mph zone when he lost control of the car, which hit two trees.

Tpr McKeen died immediately. Pte Richardson, a Royal Dragoon Guard, was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital but died two hours later.

The Northern Echo:

The Army has tidied up the area where the pair died and have turned it into a small area of remembrance with benches and a rockery.

“A couple of weeks ago the area was vandalised again,” added Mr Muir. “The lights were broken, the fence was smashed and some of the flowers had been kicked all over the place, however, a doorman from a nearby club saw the mess and kindly cleared it up before we saw it.”

Pte Richardson was born in Stockton and was brought up in the Bluehall area by her mother and stepdad, after her natural father, Mark Richardson, was stabbed and killed in the street in 2002 when he tried to intervene after finding two men chasing a teenager.

Pte Richardson had only known Tpr McKeen for a few weeks and the pair were just friends.

The video can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=11tu_UFJgMc