A motorist who killed two promising grammar school pupils when she smashed into their stationary car at 70mph after sipping alcohol at the wheel has been jailed for ten years.
Mother-of-two Natasha Allarakhia, 36, was speeding at 96mph in her Audi Q2 when she failed to notice the car which had stopped at temporary traffic lights in front of her.
Both William Ray, 17, who had driven three of his friends to watch an England football match on television, and his passenger, Eddie Shore, 18, died.
A second passenger, Jack Prince, then 17, suffered life changing injuries.
Allarakhia, who was driving her own female partner and two young daughters, aged seven and 12, initially claimed not to have been at the wheel when police arrived at the scene, telling them it was a friend who had run off through a field which meant the National Air Service was deployed in a bid to find them.
It was only after an hour, after being confronted by them at the scene, that she admitted she had been driving.
Whilst not over the prescribed limit for drink driving, the court heard how she had been taking sips from a can of alcohol during the journey whilst driving.
The court heard Allarakhia has five previous convictions for 12 offences, including a bad driving record and was even caught speeding again while on bail after the fatal crash.
David Eager, prosecuting, said Mr Ray, known as Will, had consumed no alcohol and was waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights on the A17 at North Rauceby, Lincs, on June 20 last year when Allarakhia simply drove into the back of his Ford Fiesta.
Mr Eager told the court: ‘Not only was she driving at 96mph but she was not paying attention all the time.
‘During part of the journey she was drinking from a can of alcohol, literally drinking and driving.’
Examination of the Audi’s air bag control module identified that it was travelling in excess of 90 mph just moments prior to the collision; the speed limit for this section of the A17 is 60mph.
Further data revealed that braking only started less than two seconds prior to the collision occurring.
When asked to take a roadside breath test and replied: ‘I’ve had a drink. I’m not p*ssed. I’m not the driver.’
The court heard Allarakhia was within the legal limit.
‘At that point she laughs, again in the presence of her children,’ Mr Eager added.
Mr Eager said Allarakhia maintained the lie that she wasn’t the driver for one hour and 12 minutes.
Mr Eager said: ‘During that time two boys were being extracted from the vehicle, and the other two men were effectively dying,’ Mr Eager stressed.
Allarakhia’s partner, Kim Booth, was also injured.
She described how Allarakhia had driven to Sheffield to pick her up and had taken a couple of sips from her can during the return journey. She also said Allarakhia had been drinking earlier in the day.
Investigations showed Allarakhia had also allowed her youngest child not to wear a seat belt during the trip.
All four passengers were taken to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham where Mr Ray and Mr Shore were later declared dead from their head injuries.
Allarakhia, of Turner Crescent, Norwich pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Mr Ray on 21 June and Mr Shore on 22 June by dangerous driving. She also admitted a third charge of causing serious injury to passenger, Jack Prince, on 20 June.
In a victim impact statement Eddie’s mother, Kerri Foster, told Allarakhia that her ‘selfish actions’ had robbed her of her son.
Allarakhia, wearing a purple dress, held her head and mumbled ‘I’m sorry’ as Mrs Foster insisted ‘I am serving a life sentence of grief.’
Mrs Foster revealed Eddie was about to take up a dream job as a ski lift operator in Canada and described how the family received his successful A Level results just eight weeks after his death.
The results meant Eddie would have been able to take up a place at university in Leeds.
‘Now we will never know what that future had for Eddie,’ Mrs Foster explained.
Eddie’s father, James Shore, described the two days he spent holding his hand in hospital before he died.
‘It has broken me and I will never be the same the person again,’ Mr Shore said, before insisting that he would keep going to help Eddie’s sister and preserve the memory of his son.
Mr Ray’s mother, Sarah Barker, described how she was working away in Glasgow when she learnt of the tragedy.
‘Our lives after 9.41pm on that evening will never be the same again. My Will, my only boy, the love of my life,’ Mrs Barker said.
Mrs Barker explained how she still visited her son’s grave every day and drew strength from the support of the other impacted families and his friends.
Mr Ray’s father, Steven, described his son as the ‘best of us’ and noted how he had genuinely never heard a bad word said about him. Mr Ray revealed how he also still cried in his sleep.
In his statement Mr Prince told Allarakhia he had been left with life changing injuries and described the mental harm as ‘unspeakable.’
Mr Prince said he was still haunted by the collision and explained that the fractures he suffered had derailed his chosen career in the RAF.
The third passenger in Mr Ray’s Fiesta, Luke Wood, described how the deaths of Will and Eddie had left him with a lifetime of ‘grief and trauma.’
Following the collision Allarakhia was arrested and gave a prepared statement in which she claimed to have suffered a momentary lack of inattention.
Edward Renvoize, defending Allarakhia, said she had shown genuine remorse which was emphasised by her demeanor in court.
‘She did not set out to hurt anyone,’ Mr Renvoize told the court
Mr Renvoize added: ‘It was a stupid lie told at the roadside which was voluntarily desisted from.’
The court heard Allarakhia was also the primary carer for her two children.
‘She is unlikely to see them again until they reach adulthood.’
The court heard Allarakhia five previous convictions for 12 offences, including two convictions for theft.
In January 2023 she was handed a 20-week suspended jail sentence for contravening a pedestrian crossing and driving without due care and attention after hitting a taxi when she drove through a red light on a pedestrian crossing.
The court heard Allarakhia was also banned from driving earlier this year under the totting up procedure for two incidents of speeding.
Those offences occurred on 13 June and 5 July, 2024, therefore shortly before and after the fatal collision.
Before passing sentence Judge James House KC addressed a packed public gallery and stated: ‘I am very conscious what brings us here today is a devastating tragedy.’
Judge House said: ‘Will and Eddie had just completed their A Levels. They will never learn their results, but had achieved what they worked so hard for’
The Judge noted it was impossible not to be moved by all of the victim impact statements which highlighted ‘what they will now miss out on together.’
Addressing Allarackhia, Judge House said while alcohol could not be proved to be a factor in the crash her previous convictions were an aggravating factor.
‘This is a woman who has had a number of warnings to slow down,’ Judge House noted.
‘This defendant was not just driving significantly in excess of the limit but was not paying attention for a significant period of time.’
Allarakhia was also made the subject of a twelve and half year driving ban and must take an extended retest before she can ever drive again.
Detective Sergeant Kate Johnston, from Lincolnshire police said: ‘This collision is solely down to the reckless, selfish and dangerous actions of Allarakhia.
‘Because of her utter disregard for the safety of others, two teenagers, with their lives ahead of them, were cruelly taken from this world. The other two occupants of the Fiesta are left with both the physical and mental impacts of that night.
‘Allarakhia deserves no sympathy in this case – her immediate reaction was to concoct a false story and deny all responsibility until challenged demonstrating a contemptible disregard for anyone else involved.
‘Her failure to observe even the most basic rules of the road have destroyed lives, put her own children at risk and rightly attracted a substantial sentence from the court.’