WHAT A TERRIBLE MOMENT when a “death wish” driver crashed into a taxi and killed a boy and a woman.
After being kicked out of a pub with a friend for drinking too much, Joe-Lewis Tyler, 34, got behind the wheel of a BMW 3 Series.
When Tyler hit a taxi on the A44 on Spetchley Road in Worcester, he was driving badly and very fast because he didn’t have insurance.
Tyler crashed into the car just after 3 p.m.. Leo Painter, six years old, had just been picked up from school.
The 26-year-old taxi driver Courney Hemming and the 39-year-old woman who was taking Leo to his foster home died at the scene.
Leo was taken to the hospital right away, but the next day he died from his injuries.
Tyler was arrested at the scene, and a test showed that he had up to 215 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, which is more than the legal limit of 80 mg.
It was found that he had 159ml, which is almost twice the legal limit.
He also had a lot of cocaine and cannabis in his body, as shown by blood tests.
Tyler pled guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving. He had to spend three weeks in the hospital after breaking his shin and having surgery on his spine.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison at Worcester Crown Court on Monday, May 8.
Tyler was “racing himself,” said Judge James Burbidge KC. He also said, “It’s hard to think of a worse piece of prolonged driving.”
Tyler also admitted to three counts of killing someone while driving without insurance and one count of major injury caused by dangerous driving.
Tyler was drinking with his friend Miles Smith-Green at the Worcester inn called the West Midlands Tavern. They won £100 on the fruit machines, the court heard.
Before being told to leave the pub for being too loud, the two drank five pints of lager and four shots of Sambuca and Jagerbombs.
Then they got into the BMW and drove quickly toward Badsey, Evesham, and Worcestershire without wearing seatbelts.
Someone said he was going so fast that she was “fearful for her safety,” and someone else said Tyler almost hit their car at 100 mph.
She said it was a “near death experience” because it was so scary.
Someone else said Tyler was “driving like a fool” and wanted to die.
The court heard that his passenger, Mr. Smith-Green, also got hurt badly, with a damaged spleen and a hip that was out of place.
The prosecutor, Simon Phillips, said Tyler “didn’t know how the accident happened” and denied driving recklessly.
Tyler, who had a daughter who was six years old, knew “he was to blame for the devastation he caused,” said Tyler’s lawyer, Adam Western.
He said, “Let me be clear: the only victims are the people who were hurt or killed and their families.”
Gemma, Leo’s 28-year-old mother, had said months before he died that she was looking forward to having her son live with her again.
“I’m glad this is over after a long five months. He got justice, but it will never be enough. It will never bring that beautiful little boy of mine back,” she said after the sentencing.
“I hope Tyler can accept that he killed three people who were not guilty.”
Kevin, Leo’s dad, said he was “angry and disgusted” by Tyler’s actions. He also said that losing his son had left him with “a massive void” in his life.
According to West Mercia Police Chief Inspector Andy Wortley, Tyler’s careless and selfish actions on the afternoon of February 22 have broken the hearts of Leo, Courtney, and Claire’s family and friends for all time and shook the community as a whole.
“The length of the sentence he received is unprecedented and shows how much damage he caused when he got behind the wheel that day. I’m glad he will now spend a long time in prison.”
“Tyler pleaded guilty, but he hasn’t shown any regret or taken responsibility for what he did.”