Drink-driver boasted ‘I’m smashed’ as he filmed himself at wheel before killing woman
Sarah Baker died after being hit by a van driven by Anton Hull in Somerset last year
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A drink-driver who filmed himself bragging “I’m f***ing smashed” while behind the wheel, minutes before killing a woman, has been jailed for six years.
Anton Hull, 21, was driving a Ford Transit van home after drinking in a pub when he hit a car being driven by Sarah Baker near Wincanton, Somerset, in August last year.
Ms Baker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hull, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, had been refused service at a pub due to being drunk before getting in his car before the crash.
Mobile phone footage released by Avon and Somerset Police showed Hull saying he was “f***ing smashed” before the tragedy.
Ms Baker, 29, was on her way to Somerset for a weekend getaway. Speaking after the sentencing at North Somerset Courthouse, her family described her as “caring, loyal and generous”.
And they condemned the “utterly selfish” Hull.
They said: “The loss of Sarah has left a gaping hole in our hearts. Over a year has passed and every single day, we have struggled to know how to carry on without her.
“Sarah was 29 years old, she had just finished a masters degree and in her last days, put in an offer to buy her first home.
“Sarah had spent the last four weeks of her life supporting her sister with her newborn baby and was simply driving to Somerset to have a weekend away.
“She was the most caring, loyal and generous daughter, sister, niece, cousin, friend and most recently aunty anyone could hope to have in their lives.
“The immeasurable pain we feel is so unnecessary when Sarah’s death was entirely preventable. The utterly selfish act of one individual has ended her life and ruined those lives around her.”
After the crash on 18 August, one witness told emergency service responders they suspected Hull had been drinking alcohol as his speech was slurred, while another said he “stank of booze”.
Hull was taken to Yeovil District Hospital to be treated for injuries, and was found to be about one-and-a-half or two times over the legal drink-drive limit at the time of the fatal collision.
Hull, 21, from Galhampton, near Castle Cary, received a six-year prison sentence and a nine-year driving disqualification.
Judge Edward Burgess, addressing Hull, said: “Your dangerous driving killed Sarah Baker, having made a selfish decision to drive despite warnings, knowing full well you were too drunk to do so. Your driving was significantly impaired, and you used your phone to record yourself driving in an intoxicated state.
“Words cannot do justice to the enormity and needless tragedy of this incident.
“You have no one to blame but yourself for your injuries.”