Millionaire's son dies in crash

Blake Leonhardt had been due to take his driving test this week

A teenager killed when he smashed a car into a wall has been identified as the son of a millionaire businessman.

Blake Leonhardt, 17, crashed the red Honda Civic, bought for him by his father Lance, at Sansaw Heath, north of Shrewsbury, early on Tuesday.

Mr Leonhardt, who lives in Monaco, said Blake, a go-kart enthusiast, had been due to take a driving test on Thursday.

He said he thought his son, who was found at the wheel by his mother, had been drinking before the accident.

It's very hard for a 17-year-old to have a nice red car sitting in the driveway with the keys in the kitchen and not be tempted to have a go Lance Leonhardt

Mr Leonhardt, who sold his car bodywork repair company in 1999, said Blake, his only child, had been having a pub reunion with friends the night before he died.

"In the excitement of the moment he just took the whole thing too far at a very strong cost to himself and a tragic cost to his friends and the people that love him," Mr Leonhardt said.

"Drinking didn't kill him - taking the car out afterwards is what killed him."

'A waste'

Asked what advice he would give to the parents of teenagers, the businessman said: "You've got to let a child run but you can't let them run too far.

"Where you can put in checks and balances you must.

"It's very hard for a 17-year-old to have a nice red car sitting in the driveway with the keys in the kitchen and not be tempted to have a go."

Lance Leonhardt said his son had a tremendous future ahead of him

Mr Leonhardt explained how his ex-wife Gloria drove off to look for Blake once she realised he had taken the car.

She found him slumped at the wheel about a mile from their home at Grinshill in Shropshire on road to Hadnall.

Police said nobody else was involved in the crash.

Mr Leonhardt said it was very difficult for the family to accept Blake's loss.

"He was just a very popular guy, a smart guy, a guy who had a tremendous future ahead of him.

"Everybody who has been involved in this, the family, has just one word - a waste."