The jail sentence of a van driver who had been drinking and had taken drugs before smashing into the back of a stationary car killing two young children is to be reviewed. Martin Newman, 41, collided with a vehicle carrying Gracie-Ann Lucas, four, and her three-year-old brother Jayden-Lee Lucas on Saturday, February 5 on the M4 westbound carriageway between junctions 28 and 29 in Newport.
Gracie-Ann died the day after the crash while Jayden-Lee died five days later. Both of the siblings, who were being driven home from a birthday party at the time of the incident, were also known by the surname Wheaton. In court, it was heard Newman was found by police to be more than twice the drink-driving limit after going out with colleagues the night before the crash, and had drunk 10 cans of Strongbow and taken cocaine once he returned to his hotel room. In the defendant's police interview, Newman said he was shattered during his drive back to Wales the next day, and had "nodded off" a few times.
At a sentencing hearing Newman – who admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, and one of causing serious injury to the children's mother Rhiannon Lucas by dangerous driving, and charges of drink-driving and drug-driving – was jailed for nine years and four months. You can recap the hearing in full by going here.
On the day of Gracie-Ann and Jayden-Lee's funeral, moving photos from the service showed a procession led by two horse and carriages, one for each child, and Elsa and Spiderman characters. You can see the poignant moment doves were released into the air by the siblings' mother at the end of the emotional day here.
Now, the Attorney General's Office has confirmed that an appeal to Newman's sentence has been received under the 'Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme'. Under this scheme, members of the public can ask the Attorney General’s office to examine sentences handed down by crown courts in England and Wales within 28 days of sentencing and decide whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal to consider.
An AGO spokesperson said: “We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”
During sentencing, Judge Williams said his sentencing powers were restricted by guidelines set by Parliament. He said: “This is the most serious level of dangerous driving. It involved a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road and utter disregard to danger being caused to others by your driving.
“The aggravating features are you have previous convictions for motoring offences including drink-driving and using a mobile phone whilst driving and secondly the gravest aggravating feature is you caused two children’s deaths and the serious injury of their mother who is left bereft.
“There’s no real mitigation in this case. Any remorse you feel rather than self-pity does not affect the sentence this court must pass. You have a limited understanding of wider consequences to others affected by the collision. As this was a single incident the court is bound to impose concurrent sentences but to reflect the extent I can the totality of your offending in the sentence passed.
“The maximum sentence is 14 years imprisonment. Many think such a sentence is inadequate to reflect what you have done and there will be many who will call for that maximum sentence to be re-examined. That is not a matter for any court but Parliament. You pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and a reduction cannot be withheld because of an inadequate maximum sentence.”
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