M4 van driver who killed two children and injured their mother after drink and drugs binge is jailed

A van driver who killed two young siblings and injured their mother in a motorway crash after an alcohol and drugs binge has been jailed for almost 10 years.

Martin Newman, 41, stayed up until 5am drinking and taking cocaine and had just two hours sleep the night before he crashed his Ford Transit into a Ford Fiesta which was stationary on the hard shoulder of the M4 motorway.

Siblings Grace-Ann Wheaten, four, and three-year-old son, Jayden-Lee Lucas, who were in the back, were taken to the University Hospital of Wales but could not be saved.

Their mother, Rhiannon Lucas, remained badly injured in hospital for 10 days after the “horrifying” collision, at 1.45pm on Saturday 5 February.

The family, from Tredegar, southeast Wales, had been returning from a birthday party and were travelling to Cardiff when they were hit between junctions 28 and 29 near Newport.

Defendant was hungover and driving ‘erratically’

Newman was seen weaving through traffic and speaking on his phone before crossing three lanes and veering on to the hard shoulder at 70mph, in an apparent attempt to undertake a lorry.

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He slammed on the brakes two seconds before hitting the Ford Fiesta at 57mph.

The family had pulled over on to the hard shoulder after Gracie-Ann complained of having a bad stomach and needing the toilet.

Newman had earlier decided he was too hungover and tired to work and instead drove three hours to Bridgend.

The Leicester-based painter and decorator said he couldn’t remember going on the hard shoulder and believes he must have fallen asleep.

Newman, from Croeserw, near Port Talbot, claimed he had one sip of an open bottle of red wine found in the vehicle because his “mouth was dry”.

He was over double the drink driving limit and still had traces of cocaine in his system, tests found.

Newman was found crying at the scene of the crash with blood on his hands and said he “wished he was dead”, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

He admitted causing the deaths of the children by dangerous driving and seriously injuring their mother.

Sentencing Newman to nine years and four months behind bars, Judge Daniel Williams said: “This was the most serious level of dangerous driving.

“It involved a flagrant disregard for the rules of the road and an utter disregard for the danger you caused to others while driving.”

‘Our family home feels like an empty shell’

Grieving family members revealed how their lives have been “destroyed” by the “devastating” crash and how they have paid the “ultimate price”.

They said in a statement: “Our family home now feels like an empty shell without them and the love and happiness they brought us cannot ever be replaced.

“We hope today’s sentence will act as a deterrent to anyone who may consider driving in a dangerous manner especially while being intoxicated through drink and drugs and distracted by a mobile telephone.

“No prison sentence that a court can impose will ever be enough and will never bring back Gracie Ann and Jayden Lee back.”

‘The sentence wasn’t harsh enough’

Ms Lucas’s uncle, Darren Lucas, said the family would fight for Newman to get a longer sentence.

“We’re just absolutely devastated. He should have got a lot longer than that,” he said.

“The sentence wasn’t harsh enough for taking the lives of two children while drunk and on drugs and everything else.

“We’re going to start campaigning to get the law changed and do the best by the memory of these children so that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

But Judge Williams said he was unable to impose a higher sentence than the law allowed.

“Parliament set the maximum sentence at 14 years’ imprisonment,” he said.

“Many will think such a maximum sentence inadequate to reflect what you’ve done,” he told Newman.

“Many might call for the maximum sentence to be re-examined. That’s not a matter for the court, but for parliament.”

Judge Williams said he was bound by the law to reduce Newman’s sentence by a third because he had entered a guilty plea at the first available opportunity.

He could not impose separate sentences for each charge of death by dangerous driving due to sentencing guidelines, and could only impose concurrent sentences for further charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Newman was also banned from the road for 14 years and eight months.

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