Drug-dealing killer who destroyed family during catalogue of criminal behaviour
30TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TURNED TO HORROR
IT had been a day of celebrations for Barry and Patricia Cooper as they marked their 30th wedding anniversary with their closest friends and loved ones.
Barry’s elderly mum Betty Cooper was of course among those joining the couple at the party in Thornaby on Saturday, June 7, 2003.
A well-known and much-loved mum-of-12, Mrs Cooper was affectionately known as “Nana Cooper” and she loved spending time with her family.
But in the early hours of the next morning, just after the 86-year-old had said her farewells to her loved ones, a speeding driver turned the happy occasion into a nightmare the family would never get over.
Just as Nana Cooper’s son and daughter in law Barry and Patricia went to help her into the car outside the house on Westbury Street, Dominic Gavin Huggett came racing down the road in his BMW convertible.
Before they even had time to think, Huggett’s vehicle ploughed into all three.
A guest at the party celebration had heard the car accelerating up the street and watched in horror as it sent the Coopers hurtling across the road “like skittles”.
The BMW had been travelling at at least 45mph in an area covered by a 20mph speed limit and traffic-calming speed bumps.
Evidence indicated Huggett had gone through a red light as he sped away from the scene, and a CCTV camera showed him travelling at approximately 57mph further down the road.
Tragically, Nana Cooper was fatally injured and died in hospital shortly after the horror smash. Barry and Patricia were left with lifelong disabilities.
At the time of the tragedy, one of Mrs Cooper’s other sons, Steven, spoke of the devastating impact on their family.
“Saturday night was a happy family gathering to celebrate the anniversary,” he said.
“Everybody had had a wonderful time and my mother had thoroughly enjoyed herself.
“Age was no barrier to her. She was never happier than when surrounded by all her sons, daughters and grandchildren.
“She’s a lady known to everyone in the area where she lived. She was Nana Cooper to all.
“A woman always ready with a smile and a word. She was so full of life.
“We have been left in total shock and numbed by it all. One minute everyone is full of life and cheer and the next minute our lives have been decimated.”
Barry’s devastating injuries included breaks in his pelvis in four places and a broken leg, while Patricia broke her ankle in two places as well as her pelvis, coccyx and knee.
She had to have 98 stitches and two plates put in her other knee as well as 90 stitches in her head.
The care home worker was left in a wheelchair and Barry could only walk with the aid of sticks.
Neither were able to work again and both sadly died in their 60s.
Following the horrific crash, Huggett disappeared and police released his picture to the media in a bid to hunt down the callous crook.
The former car salesman handed himself in eight days later after reportedly hiding out in a caravan.
Aged 34, he was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for seven and a half years for causing Mrs Cooper’s death by dangerous driving as well as witness intimidation as he had threatened a woman who was in his BMW at the time.
At the time of sentencing, Barry Cooper told reporters of their disgust at the sentence.
“He’s killed my mum – he should have got 10 years for that alone – but he’s also destroyed our lives,” he said.
“If this man had hit us by accident and stopped it could have been forgiven – accidents happen – but we can never forgive him for what he did.”
Their pain was further exacerbated when, just nine months into his stretch, Huggett escaped from Wealstun Prison in Wetherby. The family learned he had been transferred to