A driver killed my mother and father | EUROtoday

Claire Corkery was out celebrating a good friend’s engagement when a name from a policeman modified her life ceaselessly.

Her mother and father, Sue and Tom, had been strolling on a rustic street once they and the canine they had been taking care of had been hit by a dashing driver and killed.

Last week, Scott Gunn, who had reached 87mph in his BMW X5 shortly earlier than the crash, was discovered responsible of demise by harmful driving and jailed for 16 years.

Claire is looking for “cultural change” round dashing, which is the most typical issue recorded in deadly collisions in Great Britain, in accordance with official information.

It was a standard Saturday in January 2024, when Claire was having fun with celebratory drinks with associates, that she noticed a missed name and a message from a policeman.

When she known as again, he stated it was about her mum and pa, and he wanted to talk to her in individual.

“I think I knew they were both dead,” she stated.

“I had them both on “Find my Friends” and I couldn’t see where they were. I tried to call them but it went to voicemail.”

She met the police officer at her home, the place he delivered the worst potential information.

Claire was informed there had been ice on the street, and thought it will need to have been a tragic accident.

Sue was a former kids’s nurse who Claire describes as a “very warm person”.

Tom was an accountant, a “very clever man”, who preferred to assist different folks. He was about to retire. More than 300 folks attended the couple’s funeral.

The police investigation revealed Gunn had pushed the BMW he had just lately purchased at 87mph shortly earlier than the crash, on Thurnham Lane, within the village of Bearsted in Kent.

He had denied inflicting demise by harmful driving, however was discovered responsible following a trial.

For Claire, the sentence introduced “a sense of relief”. However, she additionally feels “a pain that’s always there”.

“Weddings, birthdays, celebrations, these are joyous moments… But when you have these moments and you’ve lost someone, the joy becomes bitter sweet.”

Earlier this 12 months Claire grew to become a mum. “It was really hard going through the pregnancy without my mum and dad,” she stated.

“I feel we’ve been robbed. My parents would have been fantastic grandparents. They were so loving and so generous with their time.”

Last 12 months, 1,600 fatalities had been reported in street collisions in England, Scotland and Wales. This represented a slight fall of 1% in comparison with 2023.

Speed was the most typical issue recorded in deadly collisions, in accordance with official statistics revealed by the Department for Transport.

The information additionally signifies that though extra casualties happen on roads in city areas, collisions in rural areas usually tend to end in demise.

In 2024, nearly all of street fatalities, 60%, occurred in rural areas – regardless of these roads taking 45% of visitors. Motorways accounted for simply 6% of deaths.

Nicholas Lyes, from the street security charity I AM Roadsmart, described the demise of Claire’s mother and father as “an example of serious speeding and dangerous driving, probably one of the worst examples that I’ve seen for quite some time”.

He stated funding is required to make rural roads safer.

On street security usually, Mr Lyes stated: “I feel that we’ve had something of a lost decade. We’ve seen the number of road traffic collisions and particularly serious [incidents]effectively plateaued. So we’re not seeing any great improvement on the numbers.”

He argues a “perceived lack of enforcement” might have a component to play on this, however provides “what we really need to see is an updated road safety strategy”.

The authorities is anticipated to publish a brand new street security technique by the tip of the 12 months.

A Department for Transport spokesperson stated it was “committed to reducing deaths and injuries on our roads, and our forthcoming Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, will set out further measures to keep people safe.”

Claire’s anger on the driver who killed her mother and father is palpable as she speaks to the BBC in her new home in south west London.

“The fact anyone could be so selfish just shocks me today,” she stated.

She would really like her story to make folks to think twice about how they drive.

“We need to see a cultural change in how we approach speeding and road safety in general,” she stated.

“When we talk about speeding we kind of dismiss it, people say ‘oh god, a speeding fine’. They kind of shrug their shoulders and it’s almost like it’s socially acceptable. But it shouldn’t be.”

“A few seconds is all it takes. My life is completely changed because of it.”

“Speeding, even for a few seconds it’s not worth it – get to your destination five minutes later,” she stated.

“If you are caught speeding and you go on a speed awareness course, or get your 3 points on your licence, take it really seriously and learn from that. And if you can’t learn from it, then you shouldn’t be driving.”

Chief Inspector Craig West of Kent Police’s Roads Policing Unit urged motorists to look at the freeway code, notably in poor climate situations.

“We remind road users that stopping distances double in wet weather and can be up to 10 times greater in snow and ice. Please drive responsibly, especially as the winter weather sets in,” he stated.