A motorist said ‘I hope I killed them’ after a crash which caused the death of a teen.
Luke Hawkes, 28, was behind the wheel of a Ford Transit which ignored traffic lights at the junction of the A38 and St John's Street in Bridgwater. The car smashed into the side of a white Citroen.
Bethany Branson, aged 19, was a passenger in the Citroen being driven in a proper manner by her best friend. The pair had been out to buy a milkshake. The impact was so ferocious that she was thrown from the car and died at the scene of catastrophic injuries.
A ranting Hawkes was aggressive and verbally abusive at the scene. He said ‘I hope I killed them’ to police who arrested him, reports Somerset Live.
At the time of the fatal incident, which happened on November 8, 2022, he was on bail for unrelated offences. He said he was speeding to get home in time for his court curfew at 9.30pm.
Hawkes, of Wadham Close, Bridgwater, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen. He appeared at Taunton Crown Court and was jailed for 10 years.
The court heard a moving statement from the family of Bethany who said the senseless death of the kind-hearted Bridgwater and Albion RFC player had broken them to the core.
Prosecutor Mr Ed Hetherington played the court CCTV which showed the Ford Transit travelling straight through the red light and hitting the Citroen. A police investigator later estimated that Hawkes was accelerating to a speed of 75mph in a 30mph zone.
The Citroen was travelling on St John's Street and being driven in an 'exemplary manner' through a green light, said the prosecutor.
The Citroen was forced sideways into the central reservation and came to rest on the other carriageway. There was also a collision that sent a second vehicle spinning.
Both driver and passenger were wearing seatbelts. Witnesses saw Hawkes 'screaming into a mobile phone' and shouting threats about stabbing people as he left the scene. He was brought back by his mum a short time later.
Police bodycam footage recorded Hawkes shouting and slurring abuse at officers and smelling of alcohol. He made several comments about hoping the person in the car was dead and calculating his jail time.
The family of Bethany paid tribute to their "beautiful and wonderful little lady" after he was sentenced.
The court heard about her passion for rugby, animals and voluntary work. The England rugby union captain Sarah Hunter has sent words of condolence and a supportive message.
"Our team will never ever be the same again," said her family.
Hawkes has a long list of previous offending including harassment, criminal damage, battery, wounding and failing to provide a specimen.
Ms Nikki Coombe, defending said Hawkes was not under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash and the driving was not a deliberate disregard for the rules.
She said shortly before the crash Hawkes was involved in a road rage incident with a male driver. The two men had been seen arguing before driving off. Hawkes said he may have been distracted by being followed by the other driver.
Judge Paul Cook said Hawkes was the one who triggered the crash and nobody else was to blame. He said Hawkes had been selfish, drunk, cowardly and had caused carnage at the scene.
"This was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving," he said. But he accepted Hawkes had since showed some remorse.
He said Bethany was looking forward to her 20th birthday and had her whole life in front of her when the collision happened.
"It is apparent she was an exceptional young woman," he added.
Hawkes' sentence is one of the first to have been handed down under new sentencing guidelines that permit judges to give tougher sentences to drivers who cause deaths as a result of careless or dangerous driving. Previously, the maximum that could be given was 14 years. Now, dangerous drivers can be given life imprisonment.
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