A Salford student was killed walking to the shop where he worked by a driver who had drunk 10 pints and three shots before getting behind the wheel.
The family of Gabriel Fields, 19, say they have been left 'heartbroken' and 'in complete shock' after he was run down on the first day that pubs reopened after lockdown.
David Turner was on his way home from a heavy drinking session with friends in the car when he mounted the pavement and hit the teenager.
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Gabriel, a first year student at Salford University, was killed instantly, LancsLive reports.
Preston Crown Court heard that Turner, of Martin Avenue, Lytham, was driving ‘like a maniac’, reaching speeds of 72mph in residential areas, and revving his engine “like a racing car driver.”
He was jailed for seven and a half years in 2021 for causing Gabriel’s death by dangerous driving.
Gabriel, a former Broughton High School pupil, was remembered as a popular and loving young man. He had returned home from university due to the pandemic and had earned himself a job at the local Co-op store in Station Road while he was back.
It was there he was walking to buy snacks on the day he was killed, hours after he had spent the day playing with his little sister.
As he left the house, his mum Jacqueline Blache-Rostron shouted to him: “Have fun, be careful, see you in a bit!”
But tragically, those were the last words she was to say to her beloved son.
Jacqueline and Gabriel’s step-dad Adam spoke of their pain dealing with his loss in an episode of BBC’s Panorama which focused on the dangers on UK roads.
His mum described him as a “kind, gentle, caring human” who “loved his sister and would spend so much time with her”.
Asked for her reaction to finding out the driver who took his life was drunk, Jacqueline said: “Disgusted, in complete shock. It was the first day that the pubs had opened so angry. Heartbroken.”
Adam added: “Every part of our life had Gabriel in it. Every place we go, every meal we sit down for, he should be there.
“Every time we do Christmas time or a birthday, even just the simplest things. I miss going to wake him up and he should be there and he’s not there and it’s not fair.”
As well as the fatal injuries caused to Gabriel, one of Turner’s passengers suffered a number of serious injuries and two others less serious injuries.
Over the afternoon, married dad Turner had downed at least ten pints of strong lager, and shots of sambuca and tequila. A friend he was drinking with said “this was our day to get wasted”.
Earlier that day he had been seen driving recklessly through the town, as passengers in his ‘dream’ car feared for their safety. One of his group said she would never get in a car with him again after a terrifying ride at 6pm which saw Turner’s wife screaming at him to slow down.
As he left the Swan Hotel, with three passengers on board, the tyres of the Audi span in the gravel and his front seat passenger was pinned to the back of her chair with the force of his acceleration.
As he rounded the right hand bend in Station Road, Turner lost control of the vehicle, mounted the kerb and collided with Gabriel, pulling him under the car as he careered into a bench and a tree.
Speaking after Turner was locked up, Sgt Finn Quainton, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Gabriel’s death was totally unnecessary. It happened because of David Turner’s complete disregard for the drink driving laws and because he drove so selfishly fast that he lost control of the car.
"Gabriel Fields had no alcohol in his system and was innocently walking on the pavement.
“David Turner was in fact an accident waiting to happen. Through that afternoon Turner had driven at excessive speed and bullied traffic.
"His aggressive driving meant a car crash was, in fact, inevitable. That he killed Gabriel Fields turned that into a tragedy.”
Speaking that same day, Jacqueline said: “It is very difficult to put into words the impact of losing a child. Gabe was a kind, gentle, smart and funny young man. Gabe was a son, brother and friend to many.
"Gabe was only 19 years old and had just completed his 1st year studying psychology at an undergraduate level. His choice of degree shows the type of person Gabe was.
“Nothing, and I mean nothing, can prepare you for the devastation and emptiness you feel when you are told that your child, someone that you gave birth to, are meant to protect, who you would do anything for, who you love more than anything else in this world, that they will never come home.
"You will never see him again, you will never hug him again, you will never tell him that you love him again and you will never tell him how proud you are of him. All because of the actions of that man.”
