Driver who killed a baby boy and his aunt in a horror motorway crash has been jailed for more than 17 years.
Darryl Anderson, 38, was drunk and taking pictures of himself driving at more than 140mph when he crashed on the A1(M) in County Durham on 31 May.
Watch killer driver claim “mistakes happen”
Prosecutor Emma Dowling said Zackary’s mother Shalorna Warner had taken her sleeping son with her when she went to collect her sister Karlene from Newcastle Airport in the early hours of 31 May.
Anderson, of Clarell Walk in Thorpe Hesley, had also arrived at Newcastle Airport from a holiday which his wife had left early due to his “erratic behaviour”, Ms Dowling said.
He collected his Audi Q5 from the airport where a staff member smelled alcohol on him.
Anderson told the worker his wife had left him on holiday but he was going to Bradford to get another one, Ms Dowling said
Eight-month-old Zackary Blades and Karlene Warner, 30, who were passengers in the car he rammed into, were killed instantly, Durham Crown Court heard.
Anderson, from Rotherham, who admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, initially told police his Audi Q5 was being driven by a hitchhiker he had picked up.
dangerous driving
Due to roadworks on the A1, southbound traffic was diverted through the centre of Newcastle where cameras showed Anderson was about five minutes behind the Peugeot he would crash into.
Witnesses on the Felling Bypass said he was was speeding and overtaking cars, with one person saying he was driving like a “bloody idiot”, Ms Dowling said.
At 03:17, about four miles south of Chester-le-Street, Anderson slammed into the back of the Peugeot while taking a picture of himself driving at more than double the 70mph speed limit, the court heard.
“The back of [Ms Warner’s] vehicle was so crushed there was no longer a back to the vehicle,” Ms Dowling said.
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