A drunken driver who snapped a photo showing he was speeding at 141 mph before a deadly crash in England has been sentenced to 17 years in prison

Darryl Anderson was drunk behind the wheel of his Audi SUV, had his accelerator pressed to the floor and was barreling toward a car ahead of him when he snapped a photo of his speedometer. The picture showed a car in the foreground, a collision warning light on his dashboard and a speed of 141 mph (227 kph).

An instant later, he slammed into the car in the photo. The driver, Shalorna Warner, was not seriously injured but her 8-month-old son and her sister were killed instantly, authorities said. Evidence showed Anderson never braked.

Anderson, 38, was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in prison for the May 31 crash in northern England that killed little Zackary Blades and Karlene Warner. Anderson pleaded guilty last week in Durham Crown Court to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

  • n2burns@lemmy.caEnglish
    2071·
    5 months ago

    As a Canadian, I read 141 and thought, “141 km/h is pretty fast, but that’s not international news fast.” Then I saw it was mph!

    Driving that fast on a closed course while sober with complete focus is dangerous. Yet this guy was drunk and texting on public roads.

    “Sometimes mistakes happen," he said. "But I’m not a bad person.”

    AFAIK, no mistakes happened, those were all choices. And by making those choices, yes, you are a bad person.

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
      72·
      5 months ago

      Dude didn’t even wait for the bodies to get cold before he absolved himself. What a gaping asshole

    • kamenokoEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      This is a very bad person. Calling what he did a mistake shows a lack of emotional understanding that should in all honestly, get you put somewhere we never have to see them again.

    • Sigilos@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      941·
      5 months ago

      I agree these where choices, and he should be held accountable for them. I disagree that they make him a bad person, because a person may not have the understanding of what those choices can result in. I agree that he is not a good person, but I agree because he is refusing to take responsibility for his choices.

      Edit: And upon reading the remainder of the article, I agree he is not a good person, because he clearly did understand what those choices could result in. Shooting video while driving, let alone at those kind of speeds, and while drunk? I can’t think of any excuse or explanation that could mitigate that.

      • GluWu@lemm.eeEnglish
        471·
        5 months ago

        This is literally the afluenza teen defense that got Ethan Couch zero jail time for killing 4 people and seriously injuring 9 while drunk driving.

        This guy is too poor to drive drunk and actually has to face consequences for his actions.