Causing death by dangerous driving

R v Whitnall, Court of Appeal, 19 September 2006

Counsel: For the appellant: A Nuttall For the Crown: P Palmer

W was appealing against a sentence of six years’ imprisonment and a ten year disqualification from driving after he had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988 s.1. When he committed the offence, W had been driving on a motorway in an erratic way at very high speed – up to 120mph for some 50 miles. When his vehicle collided with the car driven by the deceased, her vehicle was propelled for 170 metres down the motorway. There were three other vehicles involved in the collision, and W’s car came to rest in a ditch. Traces of cannabis were detected when blood samples were taken from W, and evidence was given by a passenger in his vehicle that W had been hallucinating, thinking that he was being pursued.