Driver high on cocaine killed boy, 6, on way home from school in 90mph crash
Six-year-old Leo Painter had just been picked up from Abigail's Place School when Joe-Lewis Tyler smashed into his taxi.
An uninsured BMW driver who was high on cocaine and had downed pints of lager as well as shots before getting behind the wheel killed a six-year-old boy and two women in a 90mph crash.
Joe-Lewis Tyler, 34, drove erratically at high speed before smashing into a taxi that was pulling out of a school on Spetchley Road in Worcester at 3pm on February 22 this year.
Six-year-old Leo Painter had just been picked up from Abigail’s Place School when Tyler lost control and hit the car he was sitting in.
Shocking CCTV shows the moment the grey BMW ploughed into the white Ford Mondeo with such force it span 180 degrees and ended up on a grass verge.
Taxi driver Courtney Hemming, 26, and Claire Adkins, 39, who was escorting Leo to his foster home, both died at the scene.
Leo was rushed to hospital but died of multiple injuries the next day.
Tyler, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
He was jailed for 18 years at Worcester Crown Court but will be eligible for release after serving 12 years.
Friends and relatives of the three victims slammed the ‘pathetic sentence’.
Ms Hemming’s partner Luke Bridger said: ‘The sentence is no deterrent to anyone.
‘It’s a pathetic sentence. The police did a fantastic job getting the conviction but the courts let the public down.’
A friend of Leo’s devastated mum Gemma said: ‘What an absolute joke. Just 18 years but probably only 12 which is four years for each life he took.
‘It should have been life. The poor little boy had his life cruelly taken away by this lowlife. This country is too soft, it’s disgusting.’
Another friend added: ‘The judge should be ashamed of himself handing him that sentence, it should have been 18 years for each victim not four.’
Judge James Burbidge KC, who is bound by law to follow sentencing guidelines, said in his remarks that Tyler had been ‘racing himself’.
‘It’s difficult to think of a worse piece of prolonged driving,’ he added.
Both the BMW and Mondeo were in good condition and so the only cause of the collision was your atrocious driving – in other words, how you chose to drive.
‘You caused catastrophic injuries to Courtney, Claire and Leo and from those injuries they could not be saved.
‘In your prepared statement to police, you said you believed you were driving normally, but the collision report estimates you were driving about 90mph in a 50mph limit and the car was stuck in sixth gear.
‘I’m grateful for the photos of each victim I have been given because it is important for the court to remember the vibrant lives of those who have been taken.
‘Courtney was looking forward to being married, her son has been left without a mother at the age of nine.
‘Claire’s three lads, now without a mother. Leo had barely started his life, aged six.
‘Your actions have had a devastating effect on the victims and the various family members who have suffered as a result of your dangerous and selfish actions. They will remain bereft.’
Judge Burbidge also banned Tyler from driving for 17 years and he must take an extended retest before he can drive again.
The court heard Tyler has been drinking with a pal in the West Midlands Tavern in Worcester, winning £100 on the fruit machines.
The pair drank five pints of lager and four shots of Sambuca and Jagerbombs before being told to leave the pub for being rowdy.
They then got into the BMW and, without wearing seatbelts, drove at high speed towards Badsey, Evesham.
One driver said he was travelling so fast she was ‘fearful for her safety’ while another said Tyler almost hit her car at 100mph.
She described the terrifying encounter as a ‘near death experience’.
Another said Tyler was ‘driving like an idiot’ and had a ‘death wish’.
Leo’s heartbroken mum Gemma, 28, paid tribute to her ‘wonderful’ Paw Patrol-loving son.
She said: ‘I’m glad this is over after a long five months he’s got justice, but it will never be enough it will never bring that beautiful little boy of mine back.
‘I hope he [Tyler] can live with the fact he killed three innocent people.’
Gemma, who had been looking forward to Leo coming to live with her again when he died, added: ‘He always had a smile on his face and was a bundle of fun.
‘I’m heartbroken that I won’t see him again. He loved Paw Patrol and I gave him a pair of pyjamas with his favourite characters on.
‘He said he loved wearing “Mummy’s pyjamas”.’
Leo’s dad, Jason, expressed his ‘anger and disgust’ at Tyler’s actions adding the loss of his son had left ‘a massive void’ in his life.
Chief Inspector Andy Wortley said: ‘Tyler’s selfish and reckless actions have left the family and loved ones of Leo, Courtney and Claire forever heartbroken and a whole community shaken.
‘Despite pleading guilty Tyler has not shown any remorse or taken any responsibility for his actions.’
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