An uninsured driver who ploughed into a car at 90mph – killing three people including a young boy – following a pub drinking binge was jailed this afternoon for 18 years.
Joe-Lewis Tyler, 34, ploughed into a taxi on a 50mph stretch of road moments after the vehicle had collected little Leo Painter from school. The six-year-old died in hospital following the collision in Spetchley, Worcester, in February.
A court heard taxi driver Courtney Hemming, 26, had just picked up Leo alongside 39-year-old Claire Adkins – a mother-of-three was escorting him home – at the end of the school day.
Ms Hemming, a mother-of-one, had ‘no time to react’ as the BMW collided with the driver’s side of her Ford Mondeo as she pulled out of the school entrance onto the 50mph road. Both women died at the scene.
The court heard ‘dangerous and selfish’ Tyler had downed pints of lager and shots in a pub prior to the collision. He was found to be over the limit for alcohol and tests found he had also taken cocaine and cannabis.
Worcester Crown Court heard Tyler, of no fixed address, had been involved in two near-miss incidents in the minutes before the fatal crash on the A44 outside Worcester, after leaving the West Midlands Tavern in the cathedral city.
A bartender estimated he had downed around five pints of lager and four rounds of Sambuca and Jagermeister shots before he and his friend were asked to leave for being loud.
A driver who witnessed the BMW before the collision said she feared for her life as the vehicle hit standing water on the road and nearly veered into her as she drove in the opposite direction.
Tyler had just previously lost control and ‘spun’ the BMW, which he had borrowed from someone else and for which the temporary insurance had ran out around 90 minutes before the fatal crash, as he tried to negotiate a turn.
A post-collision analysis found that Tyler had somewhere between 103 and 215mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, with the legal limit being 80mg per 100ml.
Judge James Burbidge KC said Ms Hemming would not have been able to anticipate that the BMW driven by Tyler would have been going at speeds of around 90mph on a day where it was raining and some roads had been left partially flooded.
Both Ms Hemming and mother-of-three Mrs Adkins, who were related, were killed instantly in the crash, while Leo died shortly after being taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Tyler and his passenger were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with serious injuries, with Tyler suffering fractures to his shin and ankle and having to undergo spinal surgery.
In front of a packed public gallery in court, Tyler was jailed for 18 years for three counts of causing death by dangerous driving, one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and three counts of causing death while uninsured. He admitted the charges last month.
Judge Burbidge said Tyler had ‘taken no heed’ to the poor driving conditions on the day and had displayed a ‘cavalier’ attitude to safety after getting into the car having been drinking.
He said: ‘Both the BMW and Mondeo were in good condition and so the only cause of the collision was your atrocious driving – in other words, how you chose to drive.
‘You caused catastrophic injuries to Courtney, Claire and Leo and from those injuries they could not be saved.
‘In your prepared statement to police, you said you believed you were driving normally, but the collision report estimates you were driving about 90mph in a 50mph limit and the car was stuck in sixth gear.
‘I’m grateful for the photos of each victim I have been given because it is important for the court to remember the vibrant lives of those who have been taken.
‘Courtney was looking forward to being married, her son has been left without a mother at the age of nine.
‘Claire’s three lads, now without a mother. Leo had barely started his life, aged six.
‘Your actions have had a devastating effect on the victims and the various family members who have suffered as a result of your dangerous and selfish actions. They will remain bereft.’
Judge Burbidge also banned Tyler from driving for 17 years and he must take an extended retest before he can drive again.
He added: ‘You have no relevant driving convictions and neither have you been to prison before. I accept you will have to live with the dire consequences of your conduct for the rest of your life and that will rest heavily upon you.’
In a statement released through West Mercia Police, Ms Hemming’s mother Michelle, said: ‘Justice has been served but that doesn’t change things for us.
‘We will forever miss our beautiful cousin Claire and my daughter Courtney.
‘Little Leo will always be looked after by those girls as they loved him, if it wasn’t for him I don’t think either of them would have stayed in their job. I just wish today’s outcome could bring them back.’
The judge said Tyler must serve two-thirds of his sentence before being considered for parole.
At the time of his death, Leo had been living with foster carers in Kidderminster, but was due to be reunited with his mother, Gemma Painter, the following month.
She had been at home when a social worker called to say Leo had been seriously injured.
Ms Painter was told to get to the hospital as soon as possible, but it was already too late by the time she got there.
‘They told me I needed to go to hospital to be with him, but unfortunately he was dead when I got there,’ she said following her son’s death.
Ms Painter remembered Leo as a wonderful little boy.
She said in an earlier statement: ‘He always had a smile on his face and was a bundle of fun. I’m heartbroken that I won’t see him again.’