Drunk driver in double death crash jailed for eight years

A speeding drunk driver who killed his two passengers then fled the crash scene has been jailed for eight years.

Estate worker Jordan Lawrence, 25, was drinking at a party after a pheasant shoot when he lost control of the vehicle near Lochgilphead in Argyll.

Father-of-three Jonathan Graham, 37, and 19-year-old Jasmine Herron were thrown from the car and died.

Lawrence was previously convicted of dangerous driving at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Sentencing Lawrence, judge Lord Beckett told him he had read of the "terrible consequences" for the families of Ms Herron and Mr Graham.

The judge said: "There is no sentence that I can pass which matches the value of the two lives that have been lost.

"It is necessary to punish you and to seek to deter you and others from driving in such a dangerous manner."

The crash happened on a single track road south of Ormsary in January 2020.

The trial heard that Lawrence, of Newmilns, East Ayrshire, had arrived at the party with a pack of lager and drank shots of whisky, vodka and gin.

As he left with Ms Herron and Mr Graham in his car, witnesses said he appeared to be driving very fast.

After the crash advocate depute Graeme Jessop said Lawrence left the scene and "holed up in his house".

He added: "One obvious explanation that he was trying to avoid detection until such time as he sobered up.

"He went home and lay low until the police found him."

The following morning, gamekeeper James Reid saw the car on the shore off the B8024 and recognised it as Lawrence's vehicle.

Mr Reid said: "It was well down the beach facing out to sea."

He added that the vehicle was "a wreck" and that he realised that Mr Graham was lying dead on his back.

Mr Graham was head gamekeeper at the Ormsary Estate. His wife Anna said the crash had been "truly devastating for us all".

She said: "He was a loving husband and father and we feel his absence every day.

"In all honesty, the outcome of the trial has no real bearing on our lives as no legal outcome will every replace Jonny or address the pain and loss we've suffered."