Leamington drunk driver jailed for killing pedestrians

A drunk driver has been jailed for nine years for killing three passengers by crashing his uninsured car in Leamington Spa.

Jamie Riddick, 21, was uninsured and was almost double the legal alcohol limit, driving a £375 insurance write-off with defective brakes and no MOT test for vehicle safety.

The crash on Radford Road killed Nathan Rhodes, 23, Ryan Case, 25, and Emily Jennings, 27, who died almost instantly on 20 June last year.

Riddick admitted three counts of causing death by dangerous driving to Coventry Crown Court.

Riddick, from Park Piece in Kineton, Warwickshire, told police he had not been behind the wheel when he “cut a corner” and hit a tree. He was saved by an airbag.

Recorder Helen Mountfield QC was told that Riddick offered to give the three friends and another man a lift outside a nightclub, after a fight with his girlfriend led to him going out drinking.

Vehicle examiners found Riddick was driving the overloaded Citroen Saxo with an insecure battery, a badly worn brake drum, and under-inflated tyres.

Riddick was banned from driving for 12 years.