Ted Vines: Father spared jail for Lincolnshire crash that killed son

A father who killed his son in a car crash in Lincolnshire has been spared jail but "will be haunted for the rest of his life", a court heard.

Paul Vines was driving his son Edward, known as Ted, to a football match on 16 January 2022 when their car collided with another vehicle near Bardney.

Ted died from a head injury when their Ford Galaxy ended up in a ditch.

At Lincoln Crown Court, Vines was handed a two-year jail term suspended for two years.

Victoria Frost, a passenger in the other car, suffered "life-changing injuries" to her spine and ankle, the court heard.

Vines previously pleaded guilty to causing his son's death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Mrs Frost.

The court heard the lorry driver, from Hamilton Road, Alford, would "never be able to forgive himself" after he lost control of his vehicle on the undulating road and hit the Mercedes Benz A220 at speed.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Hirst said: "Teddy was your son. You will have to live with that each day when you see your wife and your children."

He told Vines "you wouldn't be walking out of this court today" if it were not for an emotional plea by Ted's mother and Mrs Frost's "incredibly gracious position and generous view".

Prosecutor Stuart Lody said the 47-year-old had been driving in excess of the 60mph (97km/h) speed limit when he crashed.

He had ignored warning signs that road surface was uneven and for motorists to slow down, Mr Lody said.

Choking back tears as she read out her statement in court, Ted's mother, Sarah Vines paid tribute to a "remarkable" son who had a "magic, magnetic personality".

"Nobody and no-one will ever be able to hurt me more than the death of my darling Teddy other than to watch what my beautiful three children are going through," she said in court.

She urged the judge not to imprison her husband, who she described as "a very hands-on dad", because of the emotional and physical support he provides to the family.

"I too have seen Paul suffer as a result of this tragic accident and absolutely know he is truly sorry for what happened," she said.

The court heard Mrs Frost also "did not want" Vines to go to prison and "there is no hate towards him".

Vines' defence barrister, Andrew Nuttall, said: "In his head he just can't accept how he behaved in the way he did."

He said Lincolnshire County Council had reduced the speed limit for the road from 60mph to 40mph (64km/h) following the collision.

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