A mum told a neighbour ‘that’s it, my life is over’ after killing two pedestrians in a crash. Jade Devine was over the drink-drive limit when found by police.
She had tried to flee from officers after the incident, Cumbria Police said. Detectives from the force revealed today that she had travelled in a white Nissan Qashqai from Flimby to Workington to buy cocaine in the lead-up to the collision.
She was on her way home when the crash happened. But officers today said that rather than try to help as the two pedestrians lay in the road, she ran away.
The two people were 31-year-old Bethanie Clark and 44-year-old David Muir. Emergency services attended the incident but both were pronounced dead.
The mum went to a neighbour’s home after the crash and asked for help before saying: “I’ve killed two people. That’s it, my life is over.”
Near to the scene of the collision was a white Nissan Qashqai that had sustained substantial damage. Checks revealed it was registered to Jade Devine.
Officers went to her house and saw her trying to get through her garden gate. She ran away but was pursued by officers and arrested.
Carlisle Crown Court was told that in the early hours of Sunday, May 15, 2022, police officers had been called by a member of the public who had come across the two people in the road. Devine was breathalysed and found to be over the drink-drive limit, police said.
Now she has been sentenced. Jade Devine, 33, of Andersons Court, Flimby admitted two counts of causing death by careless driving while over the limit for alcohol.
After she was arrested, she maintained the pedestrians had “come out of nowhere”. She said that she “panicked” before running away.
A forensic collision investigation report found that Devine had been travelling at excessive speed before the crash. They said this affected her reaction time.
They said the alcohol she had drunk would also have affected her ability to properly judge her surroundings and control her vehicle. Devine told officers in interview that she knew she was going to prison but had fled because she wanted to get home to see her children first.
She has now been sentenced to eight years in prison. She has also been banned from driving for nine years and four months.
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story of Cumbria Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “This was a tragic incident which resulted in two people losing their lives. Devine’s actions prior to the collision – being over the limit for alcohol and speeding – were found to be significant factors in the outcome.
“But she also made the decision to flee the scene rather than stay to assist those who she struck with her vehicle and await the arrival of the emergency services. There is no excuse for drink-driving and this case tragically illustrates the potential outcome if you do get behind the wheel whilst unfit.”