Girl, 7, playing on pink scooter killed after being hit by teenager riding stolen motorbike and thrown 20 metres into the air

A teenager who hit and killed a seven-year-old girl while he was riding a stolen motorbike in Walsall last year has been sentenced to 64 months detention. The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, hit Katniss Seleznev when he was riding a blue Suzuki motorbike at around 52mph on Turnstone Road in Walsall on the evening of 27 July last year.

Katniss Seleznev was thrown around 20 metres when she was hit. At the time of the incident the schoolgirl was riding a pink three-wheeled scooter outside her home with her twin brother and older sister, the Crown Court heard on Wednesday (22 May).

The teen, who is now 15 but was 14 at the time of the fatal crash, did not stop at the scene but went to a nearby road where he hid the bike. The bike was later found burnt in some bushes.

Following his arrest, the boy gave no comment answers in interview, but pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court in April. A witness told police the boy was riding the motorbike with his hood up and his face covered by a balaclava.

Collision investigators said there were no obvious signs the rider had tried to brake before hitting Katniss. Katniss's mother Lina, who listened to proceedings through a Bulgarian interpreter, cried quietly as CCTV images showed her children riding their scooters in the street before a clip showed her youngest daughter flying through the air after the collision.

Judge Michael Chambers KC, Recorder of Wolverhampton, said he could not begin to imagine the impact Katniss's death has had on her parents and siblings as a result of the "appalling" crash. He sentenced the teenager to serve half of a 64-month sentence in detention before being released on licence.

The teenager had been previously convicted of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent, driving without insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and had been given a referral order. Defending, Robert Cowley said the boy had a difficult upbringing and was developmentally immature for his age, but by entering a guilty plea he had shown remorse.

Katniss was described by her father Bojil as "full of joy" and a "dream child", in a statement read to the court. It added that Katniss and her twin brother were born after the couple "fought for five years" through multiple miscarriages and IVF rounds and stated “time isn’t going to heal this loss”.