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Drink-driver Marzena Yeardley jailed for killing Shannon Hunt

A woman who admitted killing a friend by dangerous driving had been drinking in pubs before the fatal crash, Grimsby Crown Court heard.

Four friends had been drinking at a couple of bars before Marzena Yeardley got behind the wheel of an Audi A4 convertible. She crashed into two trees, killing her rear seat passenger, Shannon Hunt.

Earlier this month, Yeardley, 40, of Coventry Close, Scunthorpe, admitted causing the death of Shannon, 24, on June 17, 2022, in Burringham Road in the town. Eyewitnesses saw the Audi overtaking a car moments before the fatal crash.

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Yeardley then lost control as she attempted to avoid on-coming vehicles. The out-of-control Audi hit and toppled one tree and was travelling at such a pace that it then hit another.

At court, there were bad-tempered comments from Shannon’s friends as they left court midway through the sentencing hearing, with shouts of: “It should be life for a life.”



Flowers at the scene of the crash on Burringham Road, Scunthorpe in memory of Shannon
Flowers at the scene of the crash on Burringham Road, Scunthorpe, in memory of Shannon

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, told the court that the Audi flipped over in the impact and Shannon was killed instantly. The crash happened at 9.30pm, just 10 minutes after Yeardley and Shannon left a pub along with two men.

The driver and Shannon did not have seatbelts on, the prosecutor said. Shannon was thrown from the car and suffered multiple injuries. Despite valiant attempts by passers-by to give first aid, the young mother was pronounced dead at the scene. Yeardley was trapped under the overturned vehicle.

Mr Evans set out a timetable of events which led to the tragic death. Shannon, who worked at Asda, had only been introduced to Yeardley a few days before the crash. They had arranged to meet up with a couple of male friends on Friday, June 17. Yeardley first drove the group to The Bluebell pub, where she was seen drinking alcohol.

The four friends then went to The Queensway, where the driver had more alcoholic drinks, said Mr Evans. They left the second pub to drive to the address of one of the male friends.

‘Gambled on amber’

Video footage, compiled from CCTV and other cameras, was shown to plot the Audi’s journey. The car was captured going through a set of traffic lights on amber. “She gambled on amber,” said the prosecutor.

Yeardley was seen overtaking a Skoda at speed. Mr Evans said the Skoda driver described the proximity of the Audi as “intimidating”. It was “a nervy moment” as the Audi overtook because two cars were coming in the opposite direction. “She darted back into the lane quickly and lost control of the vehicle and struck a large, substantial tree, before coming to rest upside down,” Mr Evans said.

A passenger in one of the on-coming cars said there would have been “a head-on collision” if the Audi driver had not steered back into the correct lane. She said the Audi appeared to be going fast. The prosecutor said the exact speed of the Audi at the time of the collision was not known, but it was “a little above the speed limit of 30mph.”

When she was later interviewed by police, the driver said she had no recollection of the crash and could not remember drinking alcohol. At shortly before 3am the next morning the driver gave a blood sample which had a concentration of 76 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Experts had calculated that, five and a half hours previously, the concentration of alcohol in the blood would have been between 125 milligrams and 233 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. The law states the court has to take the minimum reading. The legal limit for driving is 80 milligrams.

Mr Evans said the crash investigation by police experts concluded that the Audi driver had deviated sharply, which destabilised the vehicle, “losing full directional control”. He said speed alone had not caused the collision, but the level of alcohol had impaired the driver’s ability to control the car.

Mr Evans read Rule 95 of the Highway Code, which states that “alcohol will give a false sense of confidence, reduce co-ordination and slow down reactions, affect judgement of speed, distance and risk, reduce driving ability even if you are below the legal limit”.

‘A terrible thing’

For Yeardley, David Godfrey said his client was “sorry.” He said: “It is small solace, but she is. She recognises the pain she has caused and the impact it has had on so many people.”

Mr Godfrey said his client was the sole carer for her son and he would suffer “a significant wrench” with his mother in prison. He told how she worked as a supervisor at a local food company.

“She has led a blameless life and has done a terrible thing. If she could turn back the clock, she would. She genuinely regrets what she did that day,” he said. She had worked in the UK since arriving from Poland in 2007 and passed her UK driving licence in 2018, the defence barrister said. She had no previous convictions.

Judge Richard Woolfall said he acknowledged Yeardley’s guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. He said the driver was over the drink-driving limit and overtook a car at above the speed limit. She had steered back into the right lane before losing control and striking the tree.

“Your behaviour ended Miss Hunt’s life. For her family, it is not something they will get over. The best they can hope for is to learn to live with it,” the judge said.

“It is not suggested you set out that day to end a life. No sentence I impose can bring Shannon Hunt back. No sentence I impose can undo what you have done.”

He added: “As has been said, you are a good person who has done a terrible thing. You accept it has had a devastating effect on her family and friends.”

Judge Woolfall said that if the defendant had denied the charge and gone to a trial and was convicted, he would have jailed her for five years. Due to her early guilty plea he reduced that to three years and four months.”

Midway through the sentence, friends of Shannon Hunt walked out of the court, shouting: “It should be life for a life.” The judge continued presiding over the sentencing and said Yeardley would be banned from driving for a total of six years and eight months and would have to take an extended retest.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

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