Darryl Anderson was almost three times over drink-driving limit when he crashed, killing Karlene Warner and her nephew Zackary Blades
Eight-month-old Zackary Blades
A man who was almost three times over the drink-driving limit and going at 141mph when he crashed into a car, killing a baby and the baby’s aunt, has been jailed for more than 17 years, in my opinion the sentence is to lenient and does not reflect the seriousness of the crime.
Darryl Anderson, 38, had been driving his Audi Q5 erratically from Newcastle airport, having drunk on the plane back from a shortened holiday after falling out with his wife.
Eight-month-old Zackary Blades was thrown from a Peugeot 308. His mother, Shalorna Warner, described frantically searching for him after he was flung of his car seat and into the opposite carriageway of the A1 motorway at about 3.15am on 31 May, between Chester-le-Street and Durham.
Her sister, Karlene Warner, 30, was thrown from the backseat into the front airbag and she and her nephew were killed instantly, Durham crown court heard. Shalorna Warner, who was driving the Peugeot, suffered minor injuries.
Karlene Warner. Photograph: Family handout/PA
Anderson admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing last week.
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.
Anderson was jailed for 17 years and three months and is banned from driving for a further 21-and-a-half years once he is released.
Judge Joanne Kidd told Anderson he had been playing “Russian roulette” with the lives of other drivers that night and a fatal crash was inevitable.
He was breathalysed at the scene and police recorded a 95mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
He had been using WhatsApp while he drove and took a photograph showing part of the dashboard on his phone, in which Warner’s Peugeot could be seen.
Analysis of the Audi’s computer showed he had the accelerator fully depressed, did not brake before impact, and that a collision warning light was illuminated on the dashboard.
Judge Kidd delayed sentencing until Tuesday 9 July to allow the grieving relatives time to prepare victim statements now that they could be told more about the circumstances of how their loved ones died.
After the crash, Warner and Zackary’s father, Jack Blades, paid tribute to their son. “I’m so sorry you never got to grow up,” they said. “Our little Zack – mammy and daddy love you so much, you didn’t deserve any of this. We will never forget you, you will always be in our hearts.”
The family also paid tribute to Karlene Warner, saying: “How do we put into words to describe the amazing mother, partner, daughter, sister, granddaughter, auntie, niece, and friend Karlene was?
“You light up every room you walked into like the bright shining diamond that you were.”
Richard Dawson, defending, said Anderson, who is married and has a daughter, was “profoundly sorry”.
He wasn’t profoundly sorry at the time of the crash, another crash I know comes to mind and this killer as with that one was probably advised the evidence is against you and pleading guilty means a lesser sentence, no other reason.
The sad and unjust thing is Anderson won’t serve 17 years, good behaviour normally means the sentence is halved so the reality is 8.5 years for two lives.
At a police station, Anderson, of Clarell Walk, Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, told officers: “I drove into the back of a car. Sometimes mistakes happen. But I’m not a bad person.”
A Little Thought:
Anderson sounds nothing short of callous with his remark ‘mistakes happen’ is showing his true self.
This was no mistake, this was the killing of two innocent people that could and should have been avoided.
On the day of the killings Anderson had no thought for others, this is shown by drinking on the flight knowing he was driving at the other end, photographing the speedometer at high speed, empty vodka bottle in the car, response on hearing level of alcohol in his blood and statement on mistakes happen.
I wonder how he would have felt if it was his 8 month old baby and another relative that was killed at the hands of a driver under the influence of alcohol?
He would not see it as a mistake and would want better justice than what he has been given.
The family of Zackary and Karlene deserve justice and I feel have been let down by the judiciary.
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