A mother who killed two of her children in a drink-driving crash on the M1 has been sentenced to four years and one month in prison. Mary McCann, 35, of Derby, admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol.
The crash occurred on 9 August near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. McCann was driving at 72 mph in a 60 mph zone when her car drifted from lane one into lane two, colliding with a lorry. Her daughter Lilly, four, and son Smaller, 10, were not wearing seatbelts and died at the scene.
Aylesbury Crown Court heard that a witness heard McCann shout, “God, why didn’t I put their seatbelts on?” The court was told Lilly was thrown from the car and found on the roadside, while Smaller was flung around the backseat and found slumped in the footwell.
Judge Francis Sheridan said Lilly would “not have been ejected” if she had been strapped in, while “Smaller would have remained in his seat.” He added: “There is no punishment commensurate with the loss of one’s two children and I accept that. The message must go out: don’t drive under the influence of alcohol.”
McCann, who appeared via video-link from HMP Bronzefield, wept throughout the hearing. She was also banned from driving for seven years and two weeks. Her defence lawyer, Laban Leake, said McCann had complex post-traumatic stress disorder and that “the true punishment for this offence lives within Mary McCann.”
