'Reckless' drink-driver who killed teenage friend in high-speed horror crash jailed
A speeding drink-driver has been jailed after being behind the wheel during a crash which killed his teenage friend. Alex Swindell, 25, was jailed for five years and suspended from driving for nine-and-a-half years following the February smash which claimed the life of 19-year-old Jack Hotchkiss.
Chesterfield Magistrates' Court heard the pair had been out drinking with two other friends at a pub in Derbyshire on the night of the incident. Sarah Slater, prosecuting, says the foursome then decided to carry out their evening by travelling to Matlock.
Swindell drove them to their next destination in an Isuzu D-Max pick-up, and the group continued drinking at two clubs, reports Derbyshire Live. The defendant then offered to give Hotchkiss and another friend, Ben Pattinson, a lift back home at roughly 2:45am on February 13, 2022.
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Slater said: "Ben Pattinson got into the front passenger seat, Jack Hotchkiss into the rear. He was stretched out across the rear seat and was not wearing his seat belt.
"Mr Pattinson says that he was sleeping most of the journey due to the amount he had drunk. He woke up at one point and asked the defendant to stop his vehicle so he could be sick. This was around five-to-10 minutes before the collision.
"When he got back into the vehicle, he could see that Jack was asleep in the rear. He thought he had put on his seat belt and then remained awake until the collision.
"Ben Pattinson felt that they were travelling too fast for the road and that it felt scary. He said that he was being flung around from side-to-side within the pick-up as they went around corners and bends. They hit a sharp left-hand bend and the defendant took this too wide. This resulted in the vehicle travelling onto the wrong side of the road.
"It hit the verge and then a tree. Ben Pattinson describes 'the biggest bang I have ever heard in my life'as they hit the tree. They stopped with the vehicle facing towards a field on the wrong side of the road. The airbags had deployed."
Slater says Pattinson looked to the back of the car to see blood everywhere before calling an ambulance. He then exited the vehicle whilst still on the phone to emergency services with Swindell.
The prosecutor said: "The defendant got out of the vehicle too and was told by Ben to get Jack out of the rear – but he just looked at him in shock. Ben then opened the door and Jack fell towards him. He was asked by the ambulance operator if he was breathing and checked for a pulse – he could not find one.
"He was instructed to start CPR. The defendant did start but Ben Pattinson had to take over. He thought he had gone but did not want to give up on him. He continued CPR until the paramedics arrived.
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"Ben Pattinson recalls that there was not much conversation between him and the defendant, although he did say something like 'I think there was something on the road'."
Miss Slater said Mr Hotchkiss was declared dead at the scene and that a post-mortem examination gave a cause of death as a severe head injury. Pattinson suffered a fracture to his left wrist and three fractured vertebrae, and he was provided with a collar for his neck and a wrist splint upon his release from hospital the next day.
The prosecutor said said the police arrived shortly after 3am and the defendant was found sat in an ambulance. She said he was requested to provide a roadside breath sample which he did and it was positive with a reading of 76mg in breath, when the legal limit is 35.
The prosecutor said a blood sample was taken from him at nearly four hours after the collision, which gave a reading of 119mg when the legal limit is 80mg. In interview, Swindell said that as he was driving around the bend, a deer was right in front of him and he had to swerve.
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The grieving teenager's mother, Kathryn Hotchkiss, fought back tears to read out her own victim impact statement. She said: "Jack was one of life's characters, full of mischief with a smile that would light up a room. This has left a massive void in our lives and how can a parent ever come to terms with the loss of a child? It is every parent's worst nightmare.
"His life was taken years before it should have been as a result of total recklessness and a complete lack of thought for another's life from someone who thought it was okay to drink and drive recklessly with no thought about his passengers and showing no regard for the law when he made the decision to drive."
Swindell pleaded guilty to causing the death of Hotchkiss through dangerous driving and causing serious injury through dangerous driving for Pattinson. The 25-year-old had no prior convictions of any kind.
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Harry Bowyer, mitigating, said: "The defendant accepts what he has done and with the way the accident occurred. He is a hard-working young man who is highly thought of in his community. He is the father of a daughter aged two-and-a-half and he knows he is going to miss out on some of her formative years."
Judge Jonathan Bennett said: "Your actions in driving this vehicle back, following a night out have had a devastating impact. Nothing this court can do will do anything to alleviate the suffering and loss felt by Jack’s family and friends.
"They face a life time without him. You should have been travelling at less than 49 mph, you were clearly driving significantly faster than this. Ben, who I appreciate was significantly under the influence of alcohol, said he felt you were travelling 'way too quick - it felt scary'.
"You got into your vehicle and drove it, carrying two of your friends. They too had been drinking, but they were not taking on the responsibility of driving others home.
"Sadly, it would seem neither Jack, who was almost certainly lying across the back seat, or Ben were wearing seat belts. If you had been sober it is more likely you would have insisted your passengers put their seat belts on."
As well as the jail sentence, Judge Burgess disqualified the defendant from driving for nine-and-a-half years. An inquest into Mr Hotchkiss' death has already been opened and adjourned while criminal proceedings take place.
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