Adam Pembridge, 22, was close to 3 times the legal limit and had traces of cocaine in his body when he tried to drive away from a police car and crashed, killing Joshua Williams, 20, who was in the car with him.
I can’t quite get my head around him being found guilty of “driving without due care and attention while over the prescribed alcohol limit”. He was guilty of dangerous driving whilst pissed and whacked out of his skull at the very least. He’s been jailed for 5 years.
Pembridge’s car was a Rover MGF convertible – just about the most classic pratmobile available (apart from a Corsa or any model of Audi). Even without alcohol he was an accident waiting to happen. Naturally, everyone is crowing about Joshua Williams and how nice he was, great sportsman, and so on. He was still a willing passenger in that car at 4 o’clock in the morning, and was quite possibly as drunk as Pembridge – that accident could, and does, happen to far too many young drivers who think they’re brilliant when, like Pembridge, they absolutely are not.
The solution is a curfew and strict controls on carrying passengers. And mandatory black boxes.