The crash – which happened at between 57mph and 72mph – at Middle Road, Southampton, has shone a spotlight on what can happen when a night out ends in a display of testosterone-fuelled driving.
All too often, young lives are cruelly cut short in late-night crashes caused by reckless behaviour behind the wheel.
Brandon was a passenger in a car being driven by his friend, Finley Lintott-Warrilow, 21, when it was involved in what police say was a “catastrophic” collision with several parked vehicles.
Lintott-Warrilow – who was today jailed at Southampton Crown Court for or six years and 8 months – was travelling way above the 30mph speed limit when the crash happened.
Now, police are urging young male drivers to follow the rules designed to keep them and their friends safe.
Chief Inspector Emma Hart, of Hampshire Roads Policing Unit, said about one in five accidents resulting in deaths or serious injuries involved people aged 17-24.
“The reasons include inexperience and starting to form bad habits such as not wearing a seatbelt, which often has serious consequences.”
In a heartfelt plea to new drivers, she added: “Adhere to the speed limit, don’t let your passengers distract you, and don’t use your phone.”
Chief Insp Hart also highlighted a regrettable by-product of near misses, saying they could result in young motorists becoming over confident.
She added: “Overall, collisions have reduced over the past ten years as a result of things like improved in-car technology – including seatbelts that beep at you when you don’t put them on.
“But we seem to have reached the point where they are not reducing any further.”
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Police are using a combination of education and enforcement to cut the number of fatal accidents involving people who had their whole life ahead of them.
New initiatives include Go Drive, a road safety education programme aimed at schools and colleges.
Chief Insp Hart said officers were also patrolling high-risk routes as well as using safety camera vans to enforce speed limits.
According to the road safety charity Brake, more than 1,500 young drivers are killed or seriously injured on UK roads every year.
A Brake spokesperson said: “The high level of risk associated with young drivers is due to a combination of youth and inexperience.
“Their inexperience means they have less ability to spot hazards, and their youth means they are particularly likely to take risks.
“Research shows that peer pressure can encourage bad driving. Newly qualified drivers with a car full of passengers of similar age are four times more likely to be in a fatal crash.”
READ MORE: AA calls for ban on new drivers having young passengers
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is also concerned.
A spokesperson said people aged 17-24 made up just over five per cent of full driving licence holders in the UK, but were involved in more than 20 per cent of fatal or serious collisions.
Hampshire-based motoring organisation the AA said passengers scared by bad driving should demand to be let out of the vehicle.
“This can be enough to make a driver change the way he drives.”
