April 19, 2017 8.26 am
This story is over 56 months old
Man jailed for causing best friend’s death in horror crash after speeding at 90mph
An uninsured driver who caused the death of his best friend after crashing while speeding has been jailed. Jake Hardy, who only held a provisional driving licence, was behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo which his friend Jason Akrill had bought just hours earlier when the vehicle when the collision occurred on a bend…
An uninsured driver who caused the death of his best friend after crashing while speeding has been jailed.
Jake Hardy, who only held a provisional driving licence, was behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo which his friend Jason Akrill had bought just hours earlier when the vehicle when the collision occurred on a bend on the A631 near Gainsborough.
Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, said an eyewitness estimated Hardy was driving at 90mph in the moments leading up to the incident with Mr Akrill in the front passenger seat.
Mr Kemp said: “As the Mondeo approached the bend the witness saw the brake lights come on.
“He saw the car twitch to the right and then to the left. The vehicle began to spin. It came to a halt on its side resting against a tree.”
Both Mr Akrill and Hardy had to be cut free from the vehicle.
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate Mr Akrill but he passed away.
Hardy himself suffered serious injuries including fractures to his pelvis, collarbone, ribs and thumb. He subsequently spent five months in a wheelchair and is awaiting an operation as a result of a dislocated knee he suffered.
Afterwards Hardy gave a negative roadside breath test for alcohol but refused to allow blood samples to be taken in hospital. He was unable to recall anything about the incident.
The court was told that an accident investigator put the speed of the Mondeo at between 67 and 87mph at the time of the collision.
A check revealed the Mondeo had damage to the front offside suspension which may have occurred before the collision.
Mr Kemp said that Mr Akrill bought the car earlier the same day in Grimsby and drove it back to Gainsborough. He was not insured and did not have a full driving licence.
Hardy, 27, formerly of Wellington Street, Gainsborough who is currently a serving prisoner, admitted charge of causing death by careless driving on January 9, 2014 while under the influence of drink and drugs in that he failed to provide a specimen when required to do so.
He also admitted associated charges of causing death by careless driving whilst driving otherwise in accordance with his licence and whilst uninsured.
Hardy was jailed for 32 months and banned from driving for three years and four months.
His prison sentence is to run consecutively with a sentence of four years and three months he received last month at Nottingham Crown Court for a post office robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.
Caroline Bradley, for Hardy, told the court: “He describes Mr Akrill as the best friend he ever had and one he won’t be able to replace.
“He misses Mr Akrill enormously. He is devastated that he is in part responsible for his death.”
Miss Bradley said Hardy has since suffered nightmares and flashbacks as a result of what happened.
She said Hardy’s girlfriend is standing by him and when released he will have the opportunity to put his offending behind him.
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Lincolnshire Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage following a two-vehicle collision in which a 12-year-old boy sadly died.
Following a call to police at 9.48am today (16 January), officers attended the B1190 at Bardney.
The collision involved two vehicles: a silver Mercedes-Benz A220 and a silver Ford Galaxy.
The 12-year-old boy, a passenger in the Galaxy, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Mercedes, a man, has been taken to hospital. The status of his injuries is currently unknown.
Update, 6pm: All road closures have now been lifted. No one else involved in the collision is believed to have sustained any life-threatening nor life-altering injuries.
If you saw the collision, or have information, you can contact police in one of the following ways:
Call 101, quoting Incident 141 of 16 January.
Email [email protected] putting “Incident 141 of 16 January” in the subject line.
North East Lincolnshire’s MPs have stood by the Prime Minister after he apologised for breaking rules by attending a lockdown party.
Grimsby MP Lia Nici dismissed calls for him to resign, saying ‘nobody is perfect’, and Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers said it was the wrong time to call a leadership contest.
Boris Johnson admitted this week he went to a ‘bring your own booze’ party in the first Covid lockdown.
He has apologised for the decision, saying he believed it was work related but regretted it in hindsight.
Although opposition MPs have called for him to resign, Lia Nici, Martin Vickers and other Tories have stood by him for now.
However, the Cleethorpes MP said the party was ‘irresponsible and reckless’.
“He was certainly right to apologise, and the party in question shouldn’t have taken place,” Mr Vickers said.
“I share the anger and frustration of my constituents at these events and it does appear that lockdown rules were broken. That is irresponsible, reckless and unacceptable and disciplinary action, and possibly prosecutions should follow.
“It begs the question of how it got to the stage of the events taking place. Senior figures should have realised that this was wrong and the event should never have got off the ground.”
Grimsby MP Lia Nici (Conservative)
Grimsby MP Lia Nici also welcomed his apology for breaking the rules.
“I think it’s a positive thing that he has apologised for being outside in that garden on that day in 2020,” she said.
“He clearly wanted to thank staff who have been working hard under under Covid rules. Was it advisable to thank them that way though?
“It certainly would have been safer than inside, but the email from the civil servant telling employees to ‘Bring Your Own Booze’ is concerning.
“People are quite rightly upset about it. Everyone should have been following rules that the public were abiding by.”
A probe into the parties is now being carried out by civil servant Sue Gray.
Neither MP joined the Labour party in calling for Mr Johnson to quit – but said the report should come out quickly.
Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers (Conservative) | Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter
Mr Vickers said: “My colleagues and I need to consider what’s in the best interest of the country. A leadership contest would paralyse the country while we’re managing the pandemic and a volatile international situation.
“The last thing we want is a complete vacuum of power at the centre of government for six weeks.
“We should wait for Sue Gray’s report into the parties that is being prepared.”
Mrs Nici said: “Nobody is perfect. The Prime Minister is a good man who wants to do the right thing for the UK and Grimsby.
“We need to focus on where we’re going – not having the national media fixated on today.
“However, as a manager and a leader myself, I can say we need to see the report sooner rather than later. If people have intentionally been breaking the rules then there should be disciplinary action.”
If the report finds that Johnson broke rules, it could convince Conservative backbenchers to trigger a leadership contest overthrow him.
Mr Johnson said he hadn’t realised he was at a party and “bitterly regrets” that way that it was handled.
Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer said that Mr Johnson’s denials were “so ridiculous it’s actually offensive” to the public at a heated Prime Minister’s Questions.
New CCTV cameras will be installed north of Lincoln city centre after Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner secured an additional £50,000 of funding.
The original £400,000 scheme came after a successful bid by Lincolnshire’s PCC Marc Jones. This involved broadening the CCTV coverage to include the main walking routes out of Lincoln city centre and in three areas.
The funding will extend the new Safer Streets CCTV and will allow for the creation of 360 coverage out of the city centre. It will now allow the cameras to monitor walking routes to and from Bishop Grosseteste University.
The money for the plan – developed in partnership with the City of Lincoln Council – comes from the government’s Safer Streets Fund.
The scheme also includes funding to develop teaching materials which promote women’s rights and challenge attitudes; a Night Safety Charter pledging to design public spaces to make them safe at night; and training for bar, hotel and restaurant staff regarding vulnerability and tackling predators.
All elements of the plan will be co-developed with women and girls and experts in the field.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. | Photo: Daniel Jaines
The Lincoln-based bid is the third successful Safer Streets bid for Lincolnshire. So far the PCC has brought £500.000 in additional funding to the county for projects in the north and east coast.
“I am delighted to be able to secure additional funding to extend the CCTV cameras even further,” said Mr Jones.
“The project was already going to make a significant difference in helping residents feel and be safe and the extra money will ensure that security is extended to even more people.
“It is excellent news and another step forward in protecting our communities.”
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