Man sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving

A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison after causing death by dangerous driving. He will also be disqualified from driving for eight years, effective immediately after release.  He must then take an extended test to be able to drive again.  

A 32-year-old passenger died when a driver lost control of his vehicle.  The driver and two passengers had spent the afternoon drinking in a bar in Horncastle.

Just after 8.40pm on Thursday, 22 June last year, Forrest Burgin was driving his white Mercedes A35 along Horncastle Road when his car crashed into the Armco barrier, flipped over and came to rest by a tree.  The collision happened just minutes after they had left a bar; they had travelled just one and a half miles.

John Wilson, 32, who was also known as Ben, was sat in the front passenger seat.  He was seriously injured and sadly died at the scene of the collision. 

CCTV footage obtained during the investigation shows Burgin drank around eight pints of lager, with an alcohol content of 4%, during the afternoon, he was with his girlfriend, a woman in her 30s, and the victim.  All three had been drinking and when they finished, they all got into the white Mercedes car which Burgin had driven to the bar and parked nearby.

Forensic evidence shows Burgin’s alcohol level at the time of the collision was not lower than 152 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.  The legal limit is 80 milligrams.  The results show he was only just under twice the legal limit.

Based on witness evidence, the physical evidence found at the scene and in the experience of the Forensic Collision Investigator, PC Barlow, the Mercedes would have been travelling substantially in excess of the speed limit when the car first left the carriageway.  PC Barlow concluded the collision occurred as a result of Burgin’s driving, with excess speed and driving under the influence of alcohol being significant factors in the collision.

Detective Sergeant Emma Ward, Serious Collision Investigation Unit, Lincolnshire Police, said: “The avoidable death of Ben has left a family without a much-loved son, brother and grandson and our thoughts are with them today.  I send my deepest condolences to the family.

“The effects alcohol has is well documented and it’s almost unbelievable that someone would get into a car and drive having drunk so much. We have worked with Dr Paul Williams, a Forensic Science Consultant, who is an expert in the field of analysing alcohol physiology and alcohol toxicology.  He conducted a back calculation of Burgin’s alcohol at the time of the collision.  Dr Williams describes how alcohol is a depressant and says ‘it slows down the processes occurring in the brain and so causes a general impairment and loss of co-ordination in body functions.’  He lists the following detrimental effects to safely drive; the ability to accurately assess speed, distance and gaps, reduced ability to assess braking distances and time.  Multi-tasking is affected and attention is diverted meaning people may more easily lose control.  These are just a few effects of alcohol when driving, the list is staggeringly long, yet people still get in a car under the influence and drive.

“My plea today is that anyone thinking of driving after consuming alcohol seriously considers the consequences of what happened on the day of this collision.

“No sentence will ever undo the devastation and immense grief felt by the loss of a much-loved young man.”

Forrest Burgin, of Eyre Chapel Rise, Newbold, Chesterfield, Derbyshire was today sentenced to six years in prison, Friday 24 May.