A man who was nearly three times the drink-drive limit and travelling at 141mph when he crashed into a car, killing an eight-month-old baby and the baby's aunt, has been jailed for 17 years and three months.
Darryl Anderson, 38, had been driving his Audi Q5 erratically from Newcastle airport after drinking on a flight home from a shortened holiday. He crashed into a Peugeot 308 on the A1 motorway between Chester-le-Street and Durham at about 3.15am on 31 May.
Eight-month-old Zackary Blades was thrown from his car seat and into the opposite carriageway, while his aunt, Karlene Warner, 30, was thrown from the back seat into the front airbag. Both died instantly. The baby's mother, Shalorna Warner, who was driving the Peugeot, suffered minor injuries.
Anderson admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. A photo he took of his speedometer moments before the crash showed he was driving at 141mph. Police found an empty vodka bottle in the wreckage of his car. He was breathalysed at the scene and recorded 95mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath; the legal limit is 35mg.
Judge Joanne Kidd told Anderson he had been playing 'Russian roulette' with the lives of other drivers and that a fatal crash was inevitable. Anderson was also banned from driving for 21-and-a-half years after his release. In a police interview, he said: 'I drove into the back of a car. Sometimes mistakes happen. But I'm not a bad person.'
