A BARNSLEY man who bragged about ‘five and drive’ before killing a young girl in a fatal collision after a seven-hour drinking session has been jailed.
Daniel Crawshaw, 28, of Bourne Walk in Staincross, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
He previously pleaded guilty to offences of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He will also be disqualified from driving for two years upon his release.
Police say Crawshaw bragged to witnesses ‘five and drive’ before showing them his car keys during a night out in Holmfirth and Huddersfield.
It’s believed that he consumed ten alcoholic drinks before driving home with 20-year-old Keegan Egdell and 28-year-old Thomas Boothroyd on March 7, 2020.
Police received a report at around 3.14am on the day that a BMW had left the road and collided with a stone wall on the B6108 Huddersfield Road, near Meltham.
Keegan suffered fatal injuries and Thomas sustained life changing injuries from which he is still suffering.
A witness described Crawshaw getting out of the vehicle and approaching them but making no mention of the critically injured passengers in his car.
When police officers arrived at the scene, Crawshaw was talking to a family member on his mobile telephone and was clearly heavily intoxicated.
Detective Constable Clare Barran said: “This tragic incident was completely avoidable.
“Crawshaw chose to drink and drive on that night, well aware that he would have been over the limit.
“His arrogance and initial failure to accept his wrongdoing has extended the suffering and pain that Keegan’s family have had to endure.”
Sergeant Mick Kilburn added: “No sentence can ever reflect the tragic loss of life in this case.
“It serves as a timely reminder, certainly with the festive season upon us, that alcohol and driving simply do not mix.
“The message from West Yorkshire Police is clear - do not drink and drive.”
Statistics from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show a total of 61 people were killed or injured in a crash in Barnsley where there was a failed breathalyser test - or the driver refused to take one - between 2018 and 2020.
It meant that drink driving incidents accounted for almost four per cent of all the casualties on Barnsley’s roads in the time frame.
However there was a marked decrease, down from 73, between 2017 and 2019.
Nationally, 14,018 people were killed or injured in a drink driving collision between 2018 and 2020 - 3.6 per cent of the total number of casualties on the country’s roads.
It marked a decrease from 15,133 between 2017 and 2019.
