Speeding driver sees prison sentence increased
He lost control of a speeding van while drunk and high on cocaine
A driver who killed two men when he lost control of a speeding van while drunk and high on cocaine has had his prison sentence increased.
Darren Burton was jailed for four years and eight months earlier this year for causing the deaths of Andrew Calf and Allan Reeve by dangerous driving.
Burton, of Waterford Drive, Derby, was over the limit for both drink and drugs when he crashed his Vauxhall Combo van into metal barriers near to Rollerworld in Mansfield Road, Derby, on 18 June 2022.
As well as driving while drunk and drugged his van was also found to have seriously underinflated tyres and was speeding at the time of the crash.
Zoe Reeve, a front seat passenger in the van, was not seriously injured but her husband Allan and father Andrew, who had been in the back of the van, which did not have any seats and was also filled with bags of cement and tools, were thrown out of the vehicle in the collision. Mr Reeve died at the scene, while Mr Calf was taken to hospital with serious injuries and died on 10 July 2022.
In a victim personal statement read out at the original sentencing hearing, Mrs Reeve told how she ran between her loved ones as they both lay seriously injured in the road.
“As I was a passenger in the van it was devastating for me to see both Allan and my dad with such severe injuries,” she said. “I didn’t want either my dad or my husband to be on their own or die alone.
“Our happy family was ripped apart by the collision.”
Following the initial sentencing at Derby Crown Court in February a decision was made to appeal the initial prison term handed to the 41-year-old – which Allan and Andrew’s family supported. Burton saw his jail term increased to five years and ten months.