Ex-footballer inhaled laughing gas as he drove BMW... the consequences were catastrophic

A party-goer who inhaled balloons of laughing gas as he drove down a road smashed into a crash barrier at around 80mph. Mason Thornton's passenger, Harlan Moon, was thrown out of the car.

The 25-year-old suffered a fractured skull and bleeding to his brain in the accident. He has been left in a vegetative state and needs 24-hour care, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Former footballer Thornton, 21, had four passengers in his car after they left a party and inhaled nitrous oxide - which were provided by Thornton - on October 23, 2022.

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On Wednesday, Harlan Moon's parents and his brother and sister watched, as Thornton appeared at Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced, TeesideLive reports.

The Middlesbrough court heard that two women had been out in Stockton that night to celebrate a birthday. They met up with Thornton, a former Darlington FC player, in The Wobbly Goblin nightclub. At 4am, the group got a taxi to a house in Thornaby, where a party was being held.

Emma Atkinson, prosecuting, said that there were people talking about "Smartwhips" and inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons. When people were told to leave by the host, because of the noise, the group - which now included Harlan Moon - got into Thornton's car with him.

Thornton drove around the corner, and gave them balloons full of the laughing gas. He then drove off, still breathing from his balloon. Ms Atkinson said that one of the female passengers took a video showing Thornton taking the drug at the wheel.

Thornton later said that he didn't know where he was going, that he had been taking directions from his passengers. He was travelling at 80mph when he veered off