Drug-driver who killed friend in crash jailed

A drug-driver whose friend was killed when the car he was driving crashed into a lamppost has been jailed.

Luke Sullivan, 24, was behind the wheel of a black BMW when he lost control in Leicester Road in Anstey, Leicestershire, on 18 March 2023.

His friend Kieran Andrews, 26, suffered fatal chest injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sullivan was found to have cocaine in his system and pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in February.

During a sentencing hearing at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday, Sullivan, of Link Road, Anstey, was jailed for six years and eight months.

Leicestershire Police said the motorist was seen driving erratically in the Station Road area of Glenfield at about 10:15 GMT on the day of the crash.

He then lost control of the car, which mounted a grass verge and collided with wooden fencing and a lamppost.

CCTV showed Sullivan running from the collision and he was apprehended later that day.

He suffered minor injuries, alongside a passenger in the rear of the car, and at hospital tested positive for cocaine.

In a statement, the family of Mr Andrews said their suffering is "still raw".

“We will never forget the morning of Saturday 18 March 2023 when two police officers told us that our beloved son, Kieran, had been killed in a road traffic collision," they said.

"This is news that no parent should have to receive.

“The only comfort we can take from everything is realising just how loved and popular Kieran was.

"A huge void has been left in many people’s lives which will never be replaced.

“We cannot express in words the pain which has been caused to us.

"Our family has been torn apart and there is no sentence which will ever bring back our son.”

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Det Con Paul Hicks, of Leicestershire Police, said: "Luke Sullivan took control of a vehicle in the most dangerous circumstances which led to the death of his friend and has also changed his own life forever.

"This should not have happened and would not have happened if Sullivan had just made the right choice that morning."

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