Father and daughter killed in speed crash

Jun 27 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AN angry mum has hit out after her teenage daughter was killed in an horrific car smash because her father was driving too fast.

Shannen Harker, 15, died from multiple injuries after dad, Stephen Rushworth, 37, lost control at high speed on a wet road and careered into an oncoming van.

After an inquest into their deaths, her devastated mum, Kirsty Knowles, slammed Mr Rushworth for his driving.

The tragedy happened in Bailiff Bridge on August 6 last year after welder Mr Rushworth had picked Shannen up from home following a recent request to have access to his daughter following around seven years without contact.

The hearing in Halifax heard how there had been sharp showers during the day and the road was quite slippery – but Mr Rushworth’s Volkswagen Golf was seen overtaking cars and driving too fast for the conditions.

Deputy coroner Mark Hinchliffe recorded verdicts of accidental death after concluding the cause of the three-car collision was excessive speed by Mr Rushworth.

After the case, mum Kirsty, 34, said: “Stephen Rushworth has always turned his back on his responsibilities. That evening he put my daughter’s life in his hands and he paid the price, showing how irresponsible and immature this grown man was.”