Drink driver jailed after 18-year-old father-of-two died after being thrown from car in crash
An 18-year-old father of two was killed after a drunk driver lost control of a borrowed car and crashed into a disused water treatment tank in the early hours of the morning.
On January 12, 2025, Jamie Bouncer, 22 from Pontefract, borrowed a VW Golf from an address where he had been at an after party following a night out, a court heard.
The 22-year-old, who only had provisional licence, took the car for a drive with the car’s owner and 18-year-old Taylor Lupton, in the early hours of the morning.
The court was told that Bouncer had been drinking at a nightclub prior to going to an after party at the home of the car’s owner.
However, the court heard how Bouncer lost control of the car on Wheldon Road and caused it to crash through a fence into a site belonging to Yorkshire Water.
The crash happened shortly after 5:40am, it was heard, in darkness, with freezing and wet conditions.
The car came to rest in a disused water treatment tank.
Taylor, a father-of-two was thrown from the car.
He suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene.
The car’s 21-year-old owner suffered serious injuries.
Investigators believed Bouncer was driving in excess of the 30mph speed limit for the road.
Bouncer was breath tested over an hour after the crash and found to be over the drink drive limit (57 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath, compared to the legal limit of 35).
The 22-year-old from Pontefract appeared before Leeds Crown Court on Monday (Mar 2) where he admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
He also admitted causing death while drink driving, causing death while driving uninsured and causing death while driving without a full licence.
Bouncer was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for 10 years and four months.
The court heard a Victim Personal Statement from Taylor’s girlfriend Megan Carswell: “I live with a constant sense of numbness, fear, and disbelief. I still cannot fully process that he is gone and not coming back.
“Our son will never get chance to meet his daddy, and Taylor will never get chance to meet his son. Our son should be able to grow up and know who his daddy is in real life, but instead he will only know photos, videos, and hear stories about his daddy.”
“What hurts even more is that Taylor never even got the chance to know that I was carrying his baby boy. I found out I was pregnant 10 days after he died.
“Taylor also has a daughter who was 11 months old at the time he was killed. He was meant to see her the day he died. She still looks at photos of him and points and says ‘daddy’.
“Taylor’s future was stolen from him. His chance to watch both his daughter and son grow up was taken away by the defendant. This loss is permanent and will follow me and his children for the rest of our lives.”
Taylor’s mother, Gemma Mason, said in her Victim Personal Statement: “My whole world came crashing down around me because of the defendant’s careless actions.
“This moment of stupidity and carelessness has ripped my whole family apart.
“I cannot put into words how you have made me feel because I can't, there isn't enough pages in the world to express how I am feeling right now.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Paul Lightowler of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “Bouncer got behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol. He wasn’t qualified or insured to drive that car and took it for a drive at excessive speed in wet and freezing conditions.
“This was a completely avoidable tragedy. A young life has been lost because someone chose to drive while under the influence of alcohol. Our thoughts are with Taylor’s family, and we urge everyone to understand that getting behind the wheel after drinking carries devastating consequences.”