A court heard harrowing details of the moment a drink-driving uninsured motorist killed three people in a 90mph crash.
Joe-Lewis Tyler, 34, was jailed for 18 years at Worcester Crown Court on Monday 5 August, for causing the deaths of taxi driver Courtney Hemming, 26, her passenger Claire Adkins, 39, and six-year-old Leo Painter.
The court heard Tyler had consumed multiple pints of lager and shots before getting behind the wheel of a borrowed BMW on the afternoon of February 22.
He had been asked to leave the pub for being disruptive.
Driving at speeds of up to 90mph, in wet conditions, Tyler lost control of the BMW and smashed into the Ford Mondeo taxi as it pulled out of a school on the A44 Spetchley Road in Worcester.
The taxi driver, mother-of-one Ms Hemming, 26, had just collected Leo from school and was taking him home with Ms Adkins.
She had “no time to react” as the BMW collided with the driver’s side of her car as she pulled out of the school entrance onto the 50mph road.
The court heard that Tyler, of no fixed address, had been involved in two near-miss incidents in the minutes before the fatal crash after leaving the West Midlands Tavern.
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.
A post-collision analysis revealed Tyler was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit and had also taken cocaine and cannabis.
Judge James Burbidge KC said Ms Hemming would not have been able to anticipate that the BMW would have been going at speeds of around 90mph on a day where it was raining and some roads had been left partially flooded.
The judge branded Tyler’s driving “atrocious” and said he had shown a “cavalier” attitude to safety.
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 hospital in with serious injuries, with Tyler suffering fractures to his shin and ankle and having to undergo spinal surgery.
The court heard emotional victim impact statements from the families of those killed. Courtney was looking forward to being married, her son has been left without a mother at the age of nine.
Claire’s three lads are now without a mother and Leo had barely started his life.
Tyler pleaded guilty to 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 was also disqualified from driving for 17 years and must take an extended retest before he can drive again.
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