Drunk mother jailed for crash which killed dog
ADRUNK 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 that at around 8pm, Webster took to the wheel after drinking alcohol and was driving on the southbound carriageway of the A1(M).
Webster ploughed into the back of the family’s car.
The child and father escaped serious injury, but they and the mother were “black and blue”. The woman who was injured said the family still suffer from nightmares and flashbacks after believing they were going to die.
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.” The court heard that Webster stated she had drank “two glasses of wine” and “did not remember the collision”.
The court was told Webster had one previous conviction for drinkdriving and driving without insurance and received a suspended prison sentence.
Vic Laffey, defending, said Webster had the “good sense” to plead guilty. He said: “It is quite obvious that she has her own demons and has problems with her personal circumstances. 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.”
He added: “She has problems with alcohol but is not drinking at all now. She is concerned about her three young children...her sister and mother have rallied round to make sure the children are cared for. She has been spending all of her spare time looking after her children and being with them. She is trying to get on an even keel.”
Sentencing Webster, Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said: “You didn’t think about anyone else but yourself when you got behind the wheel that day.”
Webster was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for three years and six months.