Mum who hit car and killed dog sent to jail
A drunk mother who killed a pet dog after smashing into a family car on the A1(M) as she filmed herself on Snapchat driving at high speed has been jailed.
Katie Webster had been drinking when she decided to get behind the wheel on September 15, last year. She then travelled along the A1(M) at speeds of up to 107mph as she filmed herself before smashing into a couple who were driving home from a day out at Northumberland with their child and pet dog.
The force of the crash caused the family’s car to flip and land on its roof, killing the family dog and fracturing the spine of the mother. When Webster was arrested, she tried to flee before being taken to hospital and then attacking a police officer.
Webster, 32, of Dixon Way, Coundon, County Durham, appeared at Durham Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced for dangerous driving, driving without insurance or a licence, and assaulting an emergency worker.
Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said the child and father escaped serious injury in the crash, but they and the mother were “black and blue”.
Ms Buck said Webster became aggressive in hospital. She said: “She was taken to a side room for a blood sample and was described as being uncontrollable. She was being hostile and making attempts to
damage items in the hospital room.”
Webster then “kicked out” at one police officer, hitting them in the thigh.
Her mobile phone was later seized and examined and three Snapchat videos were discovered that were taken while Webster was driving. Ms Buck added: “In one video, the speedometer showed speeds in excess of 100mph, 99mph and 107mph.”
Vic Laffey, defending, said: “It is quite obvious that she has her own demons. On the day of the offence there had been a significant altercation with her estranged partner who came to her home and caused a disturbance.”
Webster was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for three years and six months.