Serial drink-drive mother gets eight years for killing cycle lad
A SERIAL drink-driver who killed a teenage cyclist while almost three times the legal limit has been jailed for eight years.
Shelleen Wardle, 41, committed her fourth drink-driving offence when she veered across the road into a cycle lane, mowing down unsuspecting Jordan Seddon.
Jordan, 17, who was riding his BMX home suffered devastating injuries and could not be saved.
Despite three previous convictions Wardle climbed behind the wheel of her black Fiat Punto after downing pints of lager.
The warehouse assistant sat sobbing as she heard statements read by devastated members of Jordan’s family.
She appeared for sentencing at Teesside Crown Court having admitted causing death by careless driving while over the legal alcohol limit.
Wardle was found to have 91 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of her breath – well above the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
It was the Middlesbrough mother of one’s fourth conviction in 13 years and she faces a 10-year driving ban once she is released.
Charity shop worker Jordan was described by his family as “not a typical 17-year-old”. He had “a heart of gold” and always put others first.
He had cycled to a petrol station near his home and was returning when he was hit from behind by Wardle’s vehicle.
Harry Hadfield, prosecuting, told the court that the car veered into a cycle lane at the side of the A171 in the early hours of September 3.
After the crash, Wardle was heard to say: “He was swerving all over the road. I’m ******* off.”
A police officer intervened and she pulled into a street nearby.
Judge Sean Morris rejected claims that she was in shock and told Wardle: “You were doing your best to look after number one.”
Jailing her, he added: “Your victim, Jordan Seddon, was a young man with his entire life ahead of him. He was a muchloved, decent young man who did things for other people and put others before himself time and time again.
“You are a danger to the public behind a car wheel.
“You will be off the roads for a very long time indeed.”
Family members told how Jordan had been planning for his 18th birthday, seven months ahead. And they revealed his decision – discussed just weeks before the tragedy – to donate his organs has saved six lives.
Grandfather Keith Seddon, who along with his wife brought Jordan up from the age of one, told Wardle: “I feel so angry you have done this to us.
“Jordan had a big birthday coming up next year. He would have been 18. He had such big plans.”
His mother, Ruth Crown, said: “His smile and personality lit up the room. He would help anybody and had a heart of gold.” Stepmother Alison Seddon described the teenager as his father Alan’s best friend.
She said: “He has left a massive hole in our hearts and our life. Jordan was an amazing boy, so kind-hearted and caring.”
Andrew Turton, mitigating, said his client was racked with remorse, insisting: “Not a day will go by in her life that she will not remember or reflect.”
Inspector Harry Simpson, from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, said: “This was Shelleen Wardle’s fourth conviction for a drinkdriving related offence. She has shown arrogance and ignorance in continuing to offend.”
In 2004 Wardle received a brief driving ban for being in charge of a motor vehicle with excess alcohol. In 2009, she was banned from driving for two years.
In 2011, she was fined and banned for three years. She got her licence back in late-2013 and returned to the roads.