Man who killed young mum in A27 crash jailed
Craig Proctor had been drinking heavily and stole his mother's car prior to the collision
A drink and drug-driver who killed a young mother in a crash on the A27 in Hampshire has been jailed for eight and a half years.
18-year-old Mia Wort from Highfield in Southampton died when the car she was a passenger in was hit head-on by one being driven by Craig Procter on Kanes Hill in Thornhill early in the morning of July 17th, 2021.
Southampton Crown Court heard Procter had spent several hours drinking at several pubs in the area the previous night, before stealing his mother's car and causing the catastrophic collision at just after 1am.
He also failed a drugs test for cocaine at the scene.
The 38-year-old, of Acorns Lane in Bursledon, had already been disqualified from driving because of previous drink and drug-driving convictions in 2021, for which he also received a 26 week prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
Procter was sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday (June 22nd).
He has also been disqualified from driving for nine years and three months.
How the crash happened
The court heard Procter met two friends at the Red Lion Wetherspoon pub in Bitterne Precinct at about 4.20pm on Friday 16 July 2021 and did not leave until 6.42pm.
He was then captured on CCTV arriving at the Royal British Legion Club in Windover Close at 7.32pm. He is seen drinking lager and spirits and, based on the GPS location history of his phone, is believed to have spent nearly three hours in the club.
The court heard Procter arrived home just after 11pm, before messaging a female friend until after 1pm and apparently arranging to meet.
Procter stole his mother's black Audi A3 from the driveway and drove along Hamble Lane, before turning off Bursledon Roundabout onto the A27 Kanes Hill.
The court also heard that two phone calls were made by Procter, one whilst driving and which ended just moments before the collision and the other immediately after the collision.
21-year-old Samuel Hotston from Hamble was driving a blue Ford Focus in the opposite direction to Procter on the A27 and could not avoid the Audi as it veered into his path and caused a head-on collision.
A forensic collision investigator established that Procter was driving at speeds of between 64mph and 72mph in a 40mph limit at the point of the collision.
Mia Wort was in the passenger seat of the Ford Focus and suffered non-survivable injuries. She was taken to Southampton General Hospital where she passed away.
The court heard how Procter told police he was not the driver of the Audi, and that the driver had run off into the woods. He left the scene on foot and asked a passing driver to take him to the end of the road.
Procter failed a roadside breath test at the scene, a blood specimen was obtained from him in hospital and subsequently analysed. It contained 131mg of alcohol (legal limit is 80mg), 6µg of cocaine (legal limit is 10µg) and 314µg of BZE, which is a metabolite of cocaine (legal limit is 50µg).
DC Mark Furse, of Hampshire Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:
"A family has been devastated because of one man's complete disregard for the laws of the road.
" Procter should not have been driving full stop, let alone while drunk and high on drugs in a stolen car.
"Drivers like Procter deserve to be behind bars.
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mia.”