Jade Devine, 33, has been jailed for eight years after knocking down and killing Bethanie Clark, 31, and David Muir, 44, while drink driving and then fleeing the scene in Cumbria
A woman who knocked down and killed two pedestrians while driving over the drink drive limit made a shocking confession to a neighbour after fleeing the scene.
Cumbria Police were called to the scene of a crash found the bodies of Bethanie Clark, 31, and David Muir, 44, as well as a wrecked Nissan Qashqai. Both were pronounced dead and officers went to the home of 33-year-old Jade Devine, to whom the car was registered.
When they got to her home in Flimby, Cumbria, they found her trying to get through a gate. She ran when she spotted the officers but was arrested and found to be over the limit. Devine explained her decision to flee the scene, saying she knew she was going to prison but wanted to get home to see her kids first.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how, before her arrest, Devine went to a neighbour’s home and asked for help, saying: “I’ve killed two people. That’s it, my life is over.” In her police interview, Devine explained her decision to flee the scene, saying she knew she was going to prison but wanted to get home to see her kids first.
Devine had driven from the village to nearby Workington to buy cocaine and was on her way home when the collision occurred. When she was arrested she claimed the two people had “come out of nowhere” and she “panicked” before running away from the scene.
A forensic collision investigation report found Devine was driving at excessive speed which impacted her reaction time. Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, of Cumbria Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This was a tragic incident which resulted in two people losing their lives.
“Devine’s actions prior to the collision – being over the limit for alcohol and speeding – were found to be significant factors in the outcome. She also made the decision to flee the scene rather than stay to assist those who she struck with her vehicle and await the arrival of the emergency services. There is no excuse for drink-driving and this case tragically illustrates the potential outcome if you do get behind the wheel whilst unfit.”
Devine was jailed on Tuesday after admitting two counts of causing death by careless driving whilst over the limit, and was sentenced to eight years in prison and banned from driving for nine years and four months.