Drink-driver jailed after crash causes death of mother

A drink-driver who caused the death of a mother of three when he crashed after reaching speeds of more than 100mph on the M4 has been jailed.

Christopher Lockwood, 31, was more than three times the legal limit when his Ford Focus careered into the back of Patricia Hesser-Young's vehicle.

She was travelling to work at the Royal Mail in Swindon when Lockwood's dangerous driving caused her to lose control of her Land Rover Discovery at 5.35am on June 28 last year.

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The 4x4 rolled over, went through a barrier and crashed through trees before coming to rest at the bottom of the embankment near Membury Services on the westbound M4.

Mrs Hesser-Young, of Sonning Common, Reading, suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull, and needed specialist care.

She died more than three months later on October 4 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. A post-mortem examination found she died from a severe head injury.

Lockwood, formerly of Swindon, and now of Stoke-on-Trent, was on his way home after a night out drinking with friends in Reading.

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He was arrested at the scene after failing a breath test. He gave a reading of 110mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath almost two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 35mg.

Thames Valley Police traffic officers said that motorway CCTV camera footage revealed Lockwood had been travelling at an average speed of 104mph between junctions 13 and 14 in Berkshire.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving and yesterday was jailed for six and a half-years at Reading Crown Court.