Jailed, 100mph boy racer who killed two
He gets 4½ years after ‘car cruise’ ends in carnage
A TEENAGE driver who killed two people while speeding at almost 100mph has been jailed for fourand-a-half-years.
Aeronautical engineering student Gary Nicholson was part of a convoy of ‘boy racers’ heading to a so-called ‘car cruise’ event.
The 20-year-old lost control of his Vauxhall Corsa before skidding and crashing head-on into a Peugeot driven by John Brown, 65.
Mr Brown’s wife Patricia, 52, died, as did Nicholson’s passenger and close friend Alec Stewart, 18.
Nicholson, of Stewarton, Ayrshire, was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday after earlier admitting causing the deaths by dangerous driving.
He was also banned from the road for five years.
Students Ewan McLeod and Yung Lau, 20, and 23-year-old soldier Lee Copeland were handed 18-month community payback orders and 12month bans after also pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
McLeod and Copeland were told to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work, while Lau must do 142 hours. The court earlier heard how the four, along with others, had met at a supermarket car park in April 2014 to head to the ‘car cruise’ event in Irvine, Ayrshire.
Copeland, of Irvine, had attached a camera to a window of his Volvo to record the convoy. As they entered a dip in the road, a passenger in Lau’s car was heard to say: ‘We’ve hit the 100.’
Mr Brown, driving safely on his side of the road, approached from the opposite direction while Nicholson, McLeod and Copeland continued at ‘excessive speed’ behind Lau to keep the convoy together.
Then, prosecutor Alex Prentice, QC, told the court: ‘Nicholson lost control of his vehicle due to his excessive speed. It fully crossed over the centre lines, onto the opposite carriageway, directly into the path of Mr Brown’s vehicle.’
Nicholson’s car then hit a tree and spun into a field, while McLeod swerved to avoid the crashed vehi cles, tipping his car onto its side. He climbed out and dialled 999.
Mr Brown and his wife, from Stewarton, had been returning from a weekend away. Mrs Brown was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mr Stewart was pulled from the wreckage and died in hospital.
Nicholson later told police it was his fault as he was ‘going too fast’.
Crash investigators said all three vehicles in front of Copeland’s car at the moment of collision ‘must have been travelling at speeds approaching 100mph’.
Nicholson’s advocate Derrick said the factory worker ‘cannot cope with the guilt’.
The court heard Nicholson and his late friend Mr Stewart had shared a birthday.
Mr Nelson added: ‘Every year from now on, he will get a timely reminder on his birthday that he took away the life of a good friend.’
Lau’s QC, Ian Duguid, told the court the case was ‘mired’ in tragedy for six different families, while counsel for McLeod and Copeland said they were ‘overwrought with guilt’ and ‘chastened’.
Inspector Dean Pennington said after the sentence: ‘My thoughts go out to Mrs Brown and Mr Stewart’s family and friends.
‘Nicholson, McLeod, Lau and Copeland were reaching speeds of 100mph on the B769 close to Stewarton as they raced towards a cruise event in Irvine.
‘Their utterly selfish decision to drive on public roads in such a manner has shattered the lives of many families. This incident could have been easily avoided had this group of young men not driven dangerously and with reckless disregard for the lives of others.
‘The damage that can be done by speeding and inappropriate driving cannot be overstated. Lives can be forever changed.’
‘Disregard for the
lives of others’