Driver walks free over death crash

Another friend of driver Nicholas Boothman also lost the lower part of his left leg as a result of the crash, though Boothman himself escaped with only minor injuries.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving but escaped custody, with a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Sheffield Crown Court was told the hospital worker, who has since lost his job, had been out with friends on the night of the crash and ended up at a pub in Ecclesfield.

On the way back to his home some friends travelled in his Lexus, which he had bought only the week before, while others followed in a Ford Focus.

However the Lexus went out of control on a sweeping left hand bend on the A61, north of Grenoside at an area called Woodseats. The car spun around and the passenger side collided with a gable wall, causing serious damage.

Front seat passenger Robert Shaw, 20, was killed and Daniel Hallas, 23, who was in the rear seat was injured and lost the lower part of his left leg as a result.

In the ambulance on the way to hospital Boothman was asked by a

paramedic how fast he had been driving and he replied 70 mph. That conversation was heard by a police officer who made a note of it, which Boothman later signed.

Police investigators were unable to calculate a vehicle speed from the crash scene, but a council worker driving a gritting lorry who

witnessed the impact said the car had been travelling quickly and its speed was assessed at between 50 and 70 mph.

The road has a 60 mph limit, but an advisory 40 mph restriction in place on that section of road.

Prosecutor Richard Clews told the hearing: "It seems he was keen to show off his new car to his friends. Whether he was doing that by his driving is perhaps conjecture.

"He doesn't seem to have made any allowance for the far from ideal road conditions. He was driving much too quickly for the circumstances."

The court heard extracts from a victim statement which outlined the devastating effects of the loss of Robert on his family, including two parents and two sisters.

His father, John Michael Kay, said: "We have no doubt that our lives as a family will never be the same again".

In mitigation Paul O'Shea said "he accepts and has always accepted responsibility" for the death of his "best friend".

"He will never forgive himself. He says if he could swap places he would do so. He is aware that whatever he feels it is nothing compared to those close to Daniel and Robert."

He had lost his job and his house, moving back to live with his parents. Before the crash he had been a man of "exemplary" character.

But he had also provided support for Daniel Hallas, taking him to

hospital appointments and Mr Hallas had taken Boothman to a police

station when he had to see officers.

Since the crash, Sheffield Council had carried out extensive engineering works at the site, which was affected by water running off nearby fields.

Judge Robinson sentenced Boothman to the suspended jail term, 200 hours of community service and an 18-month supervision order in addition to a driving ban.

He told Boothman: "It is not possible to categorise this as mere

momentary inattention.

"This incident was caused by a catastrophic error of judgement on your part.

"It was too fast and even if it was not in excess of the maximum speed limit it was certainly in excess of the advisory speed restriction."