A man who was nearly three times over the drink-drive limit and driving at 141mph when he crashed into a car, killing an eight-month-old baby and the baby's aunt, has been jailed for more than 17 years.
Darryl Anderson, 38, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving after the crash on the A1 between Chester-le-Street and Durham on 31 May. He had been driving his Audi Q5 erratically from Newcastle airport after drinking on a flight home from a shortened holiday.
Eight-month-old Zackary Blades was thrown from his car seat into the opposite carriageway. His mother, Shalorna Warner, described frantically searching for him. Her sister, Karlene Warner, 30, was also thrown from the vehicle; both were killed instantly. Shalorna Warner suffered minor injuries.
Durham Crown Court heard that Anderson was driving at 141mph moments before the crash, as shown by a photo he took of his speedometer. Police found an empty vodka bottle in the wreckage. He was breathalysed at the scene and recorded 95mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, against the legal limit of 35mg.
Judge Joanne Kidd sentenced Anderson to 17 years and three months in prison and banned him from driving for 21-and-a-half years upon release. She told him he had been playing “Russian roulette” with other drivers' lives. Anderson, of Thorpe Hesley, South Yorkshire, told officers: “I drove into the back of a car. Sometimes mistakes happen. But I'm not a bad person.”
