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.
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.
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”.
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.”
• This article was amended on 10 July 2024 to correct the spelling of Shalorna Warner’s first name.
