'Our son will never get to meet him': Drink driver jailed for causing Castleford crash that killed young dad
A drink driver who caused the death of his teenage passenger when he lost control of a borrowed car has been jailed.
Jamie Bouncer borrowed the VW Golf from an address in Castleford where he had been at an after party following a night out.
He took the car for a drive with teenage passenger Taylor Lupton and the car's owner during the early hours of January 12 last year.
But moments later, the 22-year-old who only held a provisional driving licence, lost control of the car on Wheldon Road causing it to crash through a fence into a site belonging to Yorkshire Water.
The car came to rest in a disused water treatment tank.
Father-of-two Taylor, aged 18, was thrown from the car. He suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene.
The vehicle’s 21-year-old owner suffered serious injuries.
Appearing before Leeds Crown Court today (Monday), Bouncer, aged 22, of Hall Street, Pontefract, admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
He also admitted causing death while drink driving, causing death while driving uninsured and causing death while driving without a full licence.
He was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for 10 years and four months.
The court was told that Bouncer had been drinking at a nightclub prior to going to an the after party at the home of the car’s owner.
The collision happened shortly after 5.40am in darkness, with freezing and wet conditions.
Investigators believe that Bouncer was driving in excess of the 30mph speed limit for the road.
Bouncer was breath tested over an hour after the collision and found to be over the drink drive limit (57 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath, compared to the legal limit of 35).
The court heard a Victim Personal Statement from Taylor’s girlfriend Megan Carswell, which said: “I live with a constant sense of numbness, fear, and disbelief.
"I still cannot fully process that he is gone and not coming back.
“Our son will never get chance to meet his daddy, and Taylor will never get chance to meet his son.
" Our son should be able to grow up and know who his daddy is in real life, but instead he will only know photos, videos, and hear stories about his daddy.
“What hurts even more is that Taylor never even got the chance to know that I was carrying his baby boy.
"I found out I was pregnant 10 days after he died.
“Taylor also has a daughter who was 11 months old at the time he was killed. He was meant to see her the day he died. She still looks at photos of him and points and says daddy.”
“Taylor’s future was stolen from him. His chance to watch both his daughter and son grow up was taken away by the defendant.
"This loss is permanent and will follow me and his children for the rest of our lives.”
Taylor’s mum, Gemma Mason, said in her Victim Personal Statement: “My whole world came crashing down around me because of the defendant’s careless actions.
“This moment of stupidity and carelessness has ripped my whole family apart.
“I cannot put into words how you have made me feel because I can't, there isn't enough pages in the world to express how I am feeling right now.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Paul Lightowler of West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “Bouncer got behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol.
"He wasn’t qualified or insured to drive that car and took it for a drive at excessive speed in wet and freezing conditions.
“This was a completely avoidable tragedy. A young life has been lost because someone chose to drive while under the influence of alcohol.
"Our thoughts are with Taylor’s family, and we urge everyone to understand that getting behind the wheel after drinking carries devastating consequences.”