A SPEEDING driver has been jailed for almost 10 years after the car he was driving collided with a wall, resulting in the death of the vehicle's two passengers.
Scott Fitzgerald, 37, was sentenced to nine years and 10 months in prison on Friday, having pleaded guilty last November to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
His younger brother was one of the two passengers who died during the collision in Leicestershire last October.
"Fitzgerald never set out that day with the intention of killing anyone but his choice to go considerably faster than the speed limit has shattered two families and not only resulted in him being sent to prison but also having to live with the devastating consequences of his actions," said Detective Constable Charlotte Wright of Leicestershire Police.
Left the scene
Fitzgerald was driving a black Range Rover in excess of the 30mph speed limit when he hit a wall in Forest Road, Woodhouse, at around 6.20pm on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
The collision caused the car to rotate into the path of an oncoming Volkswagen Transporter before coming to a stop.
Fitzgerald's 29-year-old brother Shane and fellow passenger Daniel Witheridge, 36, were pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the Transporter sustained minor injuries.
Fitzgerald, of Manor Road, Loughborough, left the scene of the collision before police arrived but was located by officers a short time later and arrested.
Forensic collision investigators were able to corroborate witness statements that the car was travelling well in excess of the speed limit as it rounded a bend and collided with the wall.
At his hearing last November, Fitzgerald also pleaded guilty to assaulting an officer after he was placed under arrest, for which he was handed an additional month in jail.
At his sentencing hearing, he further pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of blood following the incident.
'Difference between life and death'
Following his release from prison, Fitzgerald will be disqualified from driving for eight years.
"Everyone knows speeding is against the law but speed limits are put in place for a reason — it is one of the main factors in fatal road collisions," said Detective Sergeant Ed Des-Chanelle of Leicestershire Police.
"We know the difference a few miles per hour can make — the difference between life and death.
"The faster someone is driving, the less time they have to stop if something unexpected happens."
A second man charged in connection with the incident is due to stand trial for assisting an offender later this year.
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