Captured in a dramatic sequence, two brothers raced each other at breakneck speeds around Sandbanks, resulting in a catastrophic crash that left a friend with severe injuries. The incident involved cars gifted by their parents, intended as a balm for the siblings following a family breakup.
Nineteen-year-old Harrison Taylor and his 21-year-old brother, Henry, pushed their vehicles—a Mercedes A200 and a BMW 135i—to speeds reaching 90mph. This reckless chase unfolded amidst the opulent surroundings of Poole, Dorset, a locale known for its affluent residents.
CCTV footage reveals the brothers careening down roads with a 30mph limit. Meanwhile, a VW Polo, driven by Reuben Smith, whose father is part of the Mercedes F1 team, struggled to keep pace with the luxury vehicles. This high-speed escapade occurred around 1am on Boxing Day, 2023.
The thrill ride took a disastrous turn when Harrison, pushing his car to its limits, lost control and slammed into a gatepost outside a lavish mansion.
In a split second, Henry’s BMW crashed into the rear of Harrison’s Mercedes, propelling it into a garden wall. This collision left Mia Savage, a 17-year-old passenger, trapped and grievously injured within the wreckage.
Emergency responders had to extract Miss Savage from the crumpled car. She was swiftly airlifted to the hospital, as her mother, Karen Bulgarelli, arrived at the scene, witnessing the distressing aftermath.
Despite leaving the 17-year-old with a series of life-changing injuries, the two brothers dodged jail time due to their previous good character and young ages after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Mia’s injuries included a shattered left femur, a tear in the inner layer of her aorta, a fractured neck, broken arm, eight broken ribs as well as severe internal bleeding due to a severed spleen, split diaphragm and liver laceration.
CCTV footage shows brothers Harrison and Henry Taylor race at hair-raising speeds before leaving crashing and leaving Mia Savage with life changing injuries
Henry Taylor (pictured left leaving Poole Magistrates’ Court), then 21, was driving the BMW with another friend in the passenger seat (Pictured right: Harrison Taylor)
After the crash, the Clayesmore School student underwent complex surgery and was placed in an induced coma for a week. She also missed out on her chosen university due to lesser grades after missing school because of her recovery.
Harrison and Henry at been at a property nearby Canford Cliffs Road with four other friends when they decided to ride around the affluent neighbourhood in three vehicle, Bournemouth Crown Court previously heard.
Initially Miss Savage went to get into the Polo driven by Reuben but switched to the Mercedes after Harrison shouted, ‘don’t leave me on my own.’
The group later set off in convoy but the Polo struggled to keep up with the other two cars which were travelling between 80 to 90mph on the 30mph road.
And just moments later, Harrison, who works as a property consultant for an estate agents, lost control of his Mercedes and crashed.
‘I wish every day that I had stayed in the car with Reuben and not joined Harrison,’ Miss Savage said in a victim impact statement.
At the scene, Harrison told police that he clipped the curb, collided with a wall and blanked out.
Meanwhile, Henry, who is a barber, claimed he was unable to dodge his brother’s car while coming around the corner, at a speed he estimated to be around 35mph – a statement which would later be dismissed as ‘nonsense’ by the judge.
Mia Savage, then 17, (pictured) was sitting in the front passenger seat when the brothers crashed their cars speeding around Poole Harbour, Dorset
Further footage before the crash shows the brothers dart along 30mph roads as a third VW Polo struggled to keep up with the luxury cars purchased by the Taylors’ parents
The court heard the brothers had also been breath tested at the scene and were negative for drugs and alcohol.
Ms Bulgarelli, who is a lawyer, described the ‘shock’ of seeing her beloved daughter undergo hours of surgery, revealing her damaged organs ‘were pushed up into her chest cavity’.
‘Every surgery was critical. It’s quite incredible what the teams did that saved her life that day,’ she said.
‘Mia is a very determined young lady. Against every odds she survived but still has a long road of recovery. She cannot talk about the accident, she shuts down completely.’
Miss Savage said she suffers flashbacks and was diagnosed with PTSD, underwent months of physiotherapy, and has also been left with permanent visible scarring.
She said they had been a close group of friends before the accident, but some of those friendships had ‘completely broken down’.
Guy Ladenburg, defending Henry, said their misfortune was ‘purely their own fault’ and it was ‘tragic’ the path Miss Savage’s life had taken because of their actions.
Judge Robert Pawson told the brothers they were idiots, selfish and immature and were lucky Miss Savage had not died.
He remarked that the siblings would be facing more than a decade if the young woman had died.
Judge Pawson also said whoever had bought the immature brothers the cars with 300 and 150 horsepower showed a ‘distinct lack of foresight’.
‘Boxing Day two years ago was a defining moment in the life of Mia Savage, a blameless young woman,’ he said.
The crash, which involved a BMW 135i and a Mercedes A200, left Mia with life changing injuries after her legs became stuck in the wreckage (Pictured: the scene of the crash)
Further images of the crash scene on Boxing Day, 2023 as police cordoned off the area
‘You two, then aged 17 and 19, driving cars far too powerful for your experience or ability, you are not victims.
‘You have potentially ruined another human being’s life with your actions, selfishness and immaturity.
‘Any parent couldn’t help but shudder to imagine the scene Mia’s mother arrived to discover.
‘Why did that all happen? Because you two were driving those idiotically overpowered cars and decided to race each other.
‘Harrison, a few seconds prior to impact your foot was pressed 100 per cent, pedal to the metal, between 80-90mph. You’re an idiot. Cases like this have no winners, only losers.’
He described the impact on Ms Savage as ‘appalling’ and the fallout of their actions as ‘staggering stupidity and selfishness’.
The judge also hit out at the brothers lack of courage and honour for not admitting what they did sooner.
However because of their age, guilty pleas and previous good character the brothers were given an 18-month suspended sentence.
They were also banned from driving for three years and both given a 14-month tagged curfew between 8pm and 6am.
Following the sentencing, Ms Bulgarelli expressed her disappointment with the outcome.
‘They have ruined three people’s lives but they are all clapping each other on the back that they’re walking out,’ she said.
The mother described the incident as a ‘parent’s worst nightmare’ as she recalled rushing to the scene, sitting 20ft away as her daughter was extracted from the car.
‘They told me to prepare myself, her injuries were very serious and life-threatening,’ she said.
‘Every time they came with an update I was expecting them to say they had lost her. Thankfully that did not happen.’
