The family of a teenage girl who was left with catastrophic brain injuries when she fell from a moving van after being kidnapped by her boyfriend have said 'she is alive but will never live a life', adding that she 'picked the wrong boy - like so many girls do - and paid for it.'
Angel Lynn, 19, is unlikely to ever fully recover after she was bundled into the van by her partner at the time Chay Bowskill, 20, before falling from the vehicle as it travelled along the A6 near Loughborough at 60mph on September 17, 2020.
Angel is still unable to communicate and requires round-the-clock care after suffering a fractured skull, Leicester Crown Court heard, with her family describing her current state as 'catatonic'.
'She was the most beautiful girl and now she's completely disabled,' her aunt Jackie Chamberlain told Leicestershire Live, 'She will never get better.'
Ms Chamberlain said she was 'disappointed' at the sentences handed out to Bowskill and his friend Rocco Sansome, 20, who was driving the van, after they received jail terms of seven-and-a-half years and 21 months respectively on Wednesday.
The pair had been found guilty of kidnapping following a trial at Leicester Crown Court - a crime which carries a maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment, according to solicitors JD Spicer Zeb. Bowskill was also convicted of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Ms Chamberlain said: 'We have been given a life sentence because Angel's injuries are so horrific.
Angel Lynn (pictured), 19, suffered life-changing injuries after she fell from a van. She was found injured in the carriageway of the A6 near Loughborough on September 17, 2020
Bowskill (pictured) and Sansome both denied kidnap but were found guilty after trial. Bowskill was jailed for seven-and-a-half years while Sansome was sentenced to 21 months in prison
Angel's aunt said the teen's family have had to become doctors and nurses to provide round-the-clock care, adding that her mother is 'the strongest person I know' (Pictured: Angel with her mother Nikki)
Shocking CCTV footage (left and right) shows Angel Lynn, 19, being forced into a van by 20-year-old Chay Bowskill, her boyfriend at the time
'They will walk out after half their sentences are finished and get on with their lives.
'She's never going to get married, have children and have a normal life.
'She's in hospital and won't be able to come home without a lot of changes being made to the family's home.'
She added: 'Angel picked the wrong boy - like so many girls do - and she paid for it. She will never be the same.'
Ms Chamberlain revealed Angel has had her last rites read to her three times and that she nearly died in hospital after catching Covid.
She added that the teen's two younger sisters have been left traumatised by the ordeal.
She said: 'Our family has had to become doctors and nurses.
'Her 10-year-old sister sits panicking, watching her oxygen levels go up and down when she should be enjoying her childhood. Her mum, Nikki, is the strongest person I know.'
Angel's other aunt, Julie Hutchinson, said the fact she is still alive is a 'technicality.'
She said: 'She's alive but she'll never live a life and she'll be in constant pain.
'She was a very lovely person and so kind. When she entered a room you'd think the sunshine had walked in. I feel the fact she is alive is a technicality.'
It comes after her grief-stricken father Paddy Lynn said in a statement yesterday that his family's lives had been 'changed beyond recognition forever.'
He said: 'Angel was so full of life and had such a great future ahead of her. That future has sadly been taken away from her.
'The catastrophic injuries Angel suffered will mean life will never be the same for her or our family. Every day is not only a huge struggle for Angel but also a huge struggle for our family and friends.
'We are lucky in some ways as we are a close family, we have lots of lovely friends who help us and people that care in other ways.
'We try to remain strong but we know that every day will be difficult and a struggle for us
