Drink-driver has been jailed for killing a toddler in motor accident

Andrew Vass, 31, tailgated and overtook vehicles on a twisting country road before losing control and hitting the other car, a court heard

A drink-driver has been jailed for killing a toddler after his car flew through the air into an oncoming vehicle.

Speeding Andrew Vass, 31, tailgated and overtook vehicles on a twisting country road before losing control and hitting the other car, a court heard.

Three-year-old Reuben Williams was killed instantly and his mother had her arm badly broken in the driver’s seat.

Vass was still over the alcohol limit from the night before topped off by lager he had just drunk before setting off five days before last Christmas.

Reuben’s mother Francesca Gould said in a heartbreaking statement read to Plymouth Crown Court: ‘I will never see Reuben grow up, start school, make friends, develop his own personality and interests.

‘I feel like I have been punched in the stomach and been winded.’

Judge Peter Johnson jailed Vass for five years and four months for dangerous driving over two and a half miles on the Plymouth road between Avonwick and Totnes.

He said Vass in a Honda Civic tailgated vehicles, overtook them dangerously and veered from side to side on the single carriageway road.

The judge said: ‘The inevitable happened and you lost control. You were over the speed limit and you had just overtaken a tipper lorry when you hit a bank and your car became airborne, crashing into a Volvo coming in the opposite direction.

‘You were over the prescribed limit for alcohol and you had two defective tyres.

‘This was a fragrant disregard for the rules of the road. It is a matter of prolonged, persistent and aggressive driving.

Three-year-old Reuben Williams was killed instantly and his mother had her arm badly broken in the driver's seat

Three-year-old Reuben Williams was killed instantly and his mother had her arm badly broken in the driver’s seat

‘You were determined to get to your destination no matter what the cost, and whoever would pay that cost.’

Vass, whose address has been given as HMP Parc in Cardiff, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on December 20 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to serious injury to Francesca Gould by dangerous driving.

Vass also pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit.

The court heard that Vass has already served a five-year sentence for manslaughter, when he was part of a gang which chased a cyclist before he crashed and fell to his death.

David Sapieca, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Vass had been working at a building site in Modbury and was heading to Totnes at about 12.20pm.

David Sapieca, prosecuting, said: 'It hit the bonnet first and then the roof of the Volvo travelling in the opposite direction. The collision was catastrophic, the Civic came to rest on its roof in the road. The impact on the Volvo caused it to be flattened, particularly on the passenger side.' (Pictured: The Honda Civic driven by Andrew Vass)

David Sapieca, prosecuting, said: ‘It hit the bonnet first and then the roof of the Volvo travelling in the opposite direction. The collision was catastrophic, the Civic came to rest on its roof in the road. The impact on the Volvo caused it to be flattened, particularly on the passenger side.’ (Pictured: The Honda Civic driven by Andrew Vass)

He added: ‘He lost control on a slight right hand bend. His vehicle went across the carriageway on the opposite side. That caused it to spin and become airborne.

‘It hit the bonnet first and then the roof of the Volvo travelling in the opposite direction. The collision was catastrophic, the Civic came to rest on its roof in the road. The impact on the Volvo caused it to be flattened, particularly on the passenger side.’

The barrister said that Reuben, in a rear car seat on the passenger side, was killed instantly.

He added that Francesca Gould also suffered a serious fracture to her arm.

Mr Sapieca said: ‘It is incredible that she survived.’

He added that it was estimated that Vass, who escaped with minor injuries, had been driving at up to 70mph before the accident.

The court heard Vass had his blood tested four hours later and the reading was just over the legal limit. But it was thought to have been greater at the time.

Mrs Gould and her partner Tom Williams, from Totnes, bravely read statements to the court about the impact the tragedy had taken on their lives.

Reuben’s grandparents Simon and Susan Williams, who live on Dartmoor, also addressed the court.

Reuben’s mother said: ‘It feels like every minute of my life has been altered by Reuben’s death. There are no toys under my feet, there is no toddler chatter, there is no wild child to play with, to feed, to comfort, to bathe, to put to bed.

‘I was responsible for looking after Reuben on that day and as his mother always. I find it hard not to feel like I have failed in my job as I did not manage to keep him safe.’

‘I have been told that I did all I could given the situation.’

‘Being a mother was a huge part of my identity. Now I am a mother who no longer has a child.

‘Three-year-old Reuben filled my daily life. He was waking me up in the morning, wanting to play. Asking for food and needing cuddles and stories, coming with me to the shop and to the park.

‘I have not just lost my three-year-old child. I have not just lost my role as a mother. I have lost his future. I have lost my dreams for his life, the big beautiful caring boy he would have become.’

Paul Denteith, for Vass, said he did not flee the scene when encouraged to do so by his passenger.

He added: ‘I ask you to accept the defendant is genuinely remorseful.’

The solicitor said Vass was seen to cry after the accident.

Mr Denteith added that Vass used to have a significant drug problem and had replaced that habit with alcohol.

He said that he had drank a considerable amount of alcohol the night before the accident.

Mr Denteith added: ‘He tells me he has no explanation for his manner of driving. He said he is devastated that he has caused the death of a child. He said it will be with him forever.’

Vass will also be banned from driving for two years after his release from prison.

Speaking after the case, Mrs Gould said she did not want to say anything about the sentence.

She added: ‘We just want everyone to drive safely. We just want everyone to take responsibility for driving better.

‘The other positive thing that can come out of this is that we want to raise money to build a play park in Reuben’s memory.’

The park is planned at Vire Island in Totnes and the family has set up a donations page here.



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