Jailed: Drug driver who killed teenager
JON MACPHERSON
AN alcohol and cocaine- f uelled mum-of-five from Hyndburn who killed a teenager after ploughing into him at speed on a residential street has been jailed for 44 months.
Army hopeful Jackson Pickering, 18, was struck by Victoria Barker’s Volkswagen Golf on Springfield Road in Burnley shortly before midnight on June 16 last year.
Barker, of Dill Hall Lane, Church, had driven along the narrow road at nearly twice the 20mph speed limit and through give way junctions before colliding with Jackson at just over 40mph, a court heard.
Prosecutor Paul Brookwell said the impact of the collision caused Jackson to be ‘thrown across the road and land on the opposite pavement’ and also left the Golf windscreen shattered.
Barker was then seen by witnesses to get out of the car, put her head in her hands saying ‘oh no’, Burnley Crown Court was told.
A few minutes later her friend George Barnes reversed his mum’s Renault Clio up the road and through the same give way junction before parking behind Barker’s car.
The court heard how Barnes got out and ‘shook’ Jackson’s body and, thinking he was dead, shouted to Barker “What have you done?”
Barker screamed “I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him” before Barnes replied “You killed him”.
The court heard how Barnes, 26, had a bottle of wine in his hand and dropped it onto the floor before saying “You’re p***ed up and sniffed up. You need to f*** off.”
Barnes then got into Barker’s Golf and drove it 500m away to Marlborough Road where he torched the vehicle.
Mr Brookwell said Barnes was identified through DNA after leaving his flip flops at the scene.
Jackson was taken to Royal Preston Hospital but passed away four days later on June 20.
The court heard how one hour before the collision Barker and Barnes had been eating a meal at the Kebabish restaurant in Burnley and were seen to be drinking vodka.
A toxicology examination found Barker had between 44mg and 77mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath at the time of the collision – the legal limit is 35mg.
Officers also found 12mg of cocaine in her blood – the legal driving limit is 10mg – and 93mg of the substance BZE which is produced by the body when cocaine is broken down.
Barnes’ blood test showed he had 12mg of cocaine and 200mg of BZE in his system. In interview, Barker said Jackson ‘came out of nowhere’ and she left the scene because she ‘couldn’t hack it’.
She told police that she had two or three glasses of wine and ‘felt fine’ and ‘may have had a line of cocaine’ earlier in the night.
The court head how she was on various prescribed medications at the time and was advised not to drink by her GP.
Barnes said he only took the cocaine after the incident.
In a victim impact statement, Jackson’s mum Kim Boothman said her son ‘had everything to look forward to in his life’ and they will ‘never be free of the pain and suffering they’ve caused’.
His dad Michael Pickering added: “Not one of them thought of Jackson. They only thought of Jackson and how they could get out of it.
“No matter what sentences she and George Barnes get, our family have a life sentence. We will neither forgive nor forget what they have done to us.”
Barker, 37, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Her defence barrister Andrew Nuttall said she is a ‘brilliant and caring mother’ and takes ‘full responsibility for her actions’
He said: “This is not a bad or evil person but she did on this occasion a very bad thing.
“There’s no ifs or buts about her plea and there never has been. She has been consumed by guilt from the incident.
“She has repeated over and over against that she is so terribly sorry.
“There are massive consequences, not just to her but to her family. This terrible, terrible tragedy has caused so much pain and will continue to cause pain to everybody for a very long time to come.
Barnes, of Green lane, Padiham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, assisting an offender and making off without payment.
Kathryn Johnson, defending, said it was a ‘spur of the moment’ decision to help Barker and it was a ‘very bad and stupid decision’.
She said: “He failed to think through the consequences of his actions in any way, shape or form.
“His guilt is all consuming and he is unable to work or function normally.”
Judge Sara Dodd jailed Barker for 44 months and disqualified her from driving for six years and 10 months.
Barnes was jailed for 34 months and disqualified from driving for five years and five months.
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