Drink Driver
A professional footballer who killed two young boys when he crashed into their father's people carrier while drunk has been jailed for seven years.
Arron Peak, 10, and his brother Ben, eight, were on a dream day out when former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick ploughed into their car in his powerful black Range Rover while driving "like an idiot".
Mr McCormick, who was more than twice the drink-drive limit as he drove home from a team-mate's wedding, finally admitted causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
The 25-year-old also admitted a charge of driving with excess alcohol.
The brothers, from Partington in Manchester, were travelling along the M6 in Staffordshire when the crash happened on June 7.
They were on their way to Silverstone racetrack for a day out with their father Phil Peak and three friends when their Toyota Previa people carrier was hit.
Mr Peak, 37, was at the wheel of the Toyota and was seriously injured in the crash.
Prior to the collision, other motorists noticed Mr McCormick "driving like an idiot" and estimated his speed at around 90mph, the court heard.
Judge Paul Glenn jailed Mr McCormick for seven years and four months. He was also disqualified from driving for four years for causing death by dangerous driving.
Judge Glenn imposed no separate penalty for drink driving but imposed a two-year driving ban.
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Stephen Nye from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: "This is a very sad case indeed, a family day out having ended in such tragedy. The driver McCormick was extremely reckless in his actions and the sentence, although still lenient in the eyes of many, reflects the aggravating factors of the case. These deaths were entirely avoidable. Mr McCormick could have chosen not to drive and others could have dissuaded him from doing so.
"It is ironic that this case was concluded on the day the government announced that they will not be lowering the legal limit of alcohol with regard to drink driving offences. This is not the case in many European countries such as Netherlands and Sweden, where lower permissible limits have reduced the number of alcohol related deaths on the roads.
"There are still too many deaths on our roads and we will be supporting National Road Safety Week (10th - 16th November), organised by road safety charity BRAKE, to raise awareness of this continuing problem."