Killer motorist 'should never drive again'

A speeding drink-driver who killed a woman and her baby nephew should never be allowed to drive again, the victims' family have said.

Darryl Anderson, 38, was jailed for more than 17 years for causing the deaths by dangerous driving of Karlene Warner, 30, and her eight-month-old nephew Zackary Blades.

The pair were killed on the A1(M) in County Durham when Anderson, from Rotherham, was taking a picture of himself driving at more than 140mph.

Shalorna Warner, Zackary's mother and Ms Warner's sister, who was driving the car Anderson hit, said she would "fight every day" for justice in their memory.

Anderson was almost three times the drink-drive limit when he drove his Audi Q5 from Newcastle Airport towards his home in Thorpe Hesley, in the early hours of 31 May.

Shalorna Warner had taken her sleeping son with her to pick up her sister from the airport, who had returned early from a holiday to start her dream job as a flight attendant.

At 03:17 BST, about 40 minutes after leaving the airport, Anderson smashed into Ms Warner's Peugeot about four miles (6km) south of Chester-le-Street.

The crash killed Zackary, who was asleep in the back seat, and front seat passenger Karlene Warner instantly.

Jailing him at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Joanne Kidd said the crash was "inevitable" because of the way Anderson was driving.

The court also heard he had previous convictions for drink-driving and had been warned about the manner of his driving by police in Sheffield a week before the fatal crash.

He was banned from driving for 21 and a half years and must take an extended test before being allowed his licence back.

But the family of Zackary and Ms Warner said that was not enough.

Speaking outside court, Shalorna Warner said: "We were never going to be happy with our sentence because it doesn't make up for what we have lost.

"The one thing I had really hoped for was a lifetime driving ban which he didn't get.

"Now I'm going to fight because he should never get in a car again and drive."

She said the family have set up an online campaign, called Justice for Zackary Blades and Karlene Warner, which would fight to stop dangerous drivers.

"No-one should have to go through what we've gone through and if we can stop that next person, make them think twice, then we have done some good," Ms Warner said.

"We will not stop, I will fight every single day I am on this earth for [Zackary and Karlene Warner]," she added.

Det Con Natalie Horner said Zackary and Ms Warner had been "violently" killed.

She said Anderson "chose" to drive the way he did and the car he hit "didn't stand a chance".

While he would spend a "considerable amount of time" in prison, his victims had been "handed life sentences", Ms Horner said.

"We see the trauma dangerous drivers have on our families," she said, adding the force would be "robust" in prosecuting bad drivers and educating them to reduce road deaths.

Ms Horner also said the family of the victims had shown "truly unbelievable strength and humility under the most horrific circumstances".

Follow BBC North East on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].