Man jailed following fatal A27 collision

A drink and drug driver has been jailed for killing a teenage girl in a fatal collision on the A27 Kanes Hill.

Craig Aaron Procter, 38, of The Acorns in Bursledon, had spent several hours drinking alcohol before stealing his mother's car and causing a catastrophic crash just after 1am on 17 July 2021.

18-year-old Mia Wort from Southampton was sadly killed as a result of Procter's speeding, impairment and dangerous driving.

Today, at Southampton Crown Court, Procter was sentenced following a guilty plea.

The court heard Procter met two friends at the Red Lion Wetherspoon pub in Bitterne Precinct at about 4.20pm on Friday 16 July 2021 and did not leave until 6.42pm.

He was then captured on CCTV arriving at the Royal British Legion Club in Windover Close at 7.32pm. He is seen drinking lager and spirits and, based on the GPS location history of his phone, is believed to have spent nearly three hours in the club.

The court heard Procter arrived home just after 11pm, before messaging a female friend until after 1pm and apparently arranging to meet.

Procter stole his mother's black Audi A3 from the driveway and drove along Hamble Lane, before turning off Bursledon Roundabout onto the A27 Kanes Hill.

The court also heard that two phone calls were made by Procter, one whilst driving and which ended just moments before the collision and the other immediately after the collision.

Samuel Hotston, 21, from Hamble, was driving a blue Ford Focus in the opposite direction to Procter on the A27 and could not avoid the Audi as it veered into his path and caused a head-on collision.

A forensic collision investigator established that Procter was driving at speeds of between 64mph and 72mph in a 40mph limit at the point of the collision.

Mia Wort was in the passenger seat of the Ford Focus and suffered non-survivable injuries. She was taken to Southampton General Hospital where she passed away.

The court heard how Procter told police he was not the driver of the Audi, and that the driver had run off into the woods. He left the scene on foot and asked a passing driver to take him to the end of the road.

Procter failed a roadside breath test at the scene, a blood specimen was obtained from him in hospital and subsequently analysed. It contained 131mg of alcohol (legal limit is 80mg), 6µg of cocaine (legal limit is 10µg) and 314µg of BZE, which is a metabolite of cocaine (legal limit is 50µg).

Additionally, Procter was at the time already disqualified from driving due to convictions for drink driving and dangerous driving when he crashed into a tree on Bursledon Road after failing to stop for police on 26 May 2020.

He was convicted of these offences at Southampton Magistrates Court on 11 March 2021 and was given 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was also disqualified from driving until 10 September 2022.

Today he was sentenced for causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking. He was handed an eight and a half year prison sentence and has been disqualified from driving for nine years and three months.

DC Mark Furse, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "A family has been devastated because of one man's complete disregard for the laws of the road.

" Procter should not have been driving full stop, let alone while drunk and high on drugs in a stolen car.

"Drivers like Procter deserve to be behind bars.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mia”