Key Facts
- •Keilan Roberts crashed his car, killing his passenger Chloe Hayman.
- •Roberts was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
- •Roberts was sentenced to four concurrent sentences of 3 years 9 months imprisonment for causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink and drugs.
- •The Attorney General referred the sentences as unduly lenient.
- •Roberts' blood alcohol level was above the legal limit, and he had multiple drugs in his system above the legal limit.
- •Roberts' car had dangerous defects (tyres).
- •Roberts attempted to frustrate the breathalyser process by drinking after the accident.
- •Roberts pleaded guilty at the PTPH.
- •The judge applied the 2008 Sentencing Council Guideline.
- •Roberts had a history of drug and alcohol misuse and previous failed roadside breath tests.
Legal Principles
Sentencing for causing death by careless driving under the influence of drink and drugs.
Sentencing Council Guideline (2008) for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink and drugs contrary to s3 A RTA 1988
Reference of unduly lenient sentences.
Section 36 Criminal Justice Act 1988
Application of sentencing guidelines in cases involving both alcohol and drugs.
R v Adebisi [2020] EWCA Crim 1446
Consideration of impairment by drugs when assessing the seriousness of the offence.
R v Mohamed [2020] EWCA Crim 596 and R v Adebisi [2020] EWCA Crim 1446
Weighting of aggravating and mitigating factors in sentencing.
Attorney General’s Reference (No. 4 of 1989) [1991] WLR 41
Discount for guilty plea.
Outcomes
Leave to refer the sentences was granted.
The judge made an error of principle in applying the sentencing guideline by considering alcohol and drugs separately.
The original sentences were quashed.
The unduly lenient sentences resulted from an incorrect application of the guideline.
New sentences of 5 years 3 months imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, were imposed.
The court corrected the judge's error in applying the guideline, resulting in a higher starting point for the sentence.
Driving disqualification increased to 12 years 7½ months.
The court adjusted the disqualification to account for the increased prison sentence.