Footage shows driver speeding and dangerously overtaking moments before fatal collision
Main article content
Footage shows a driver speeding and overtaking moments before he crashed the vehicle leading to the death of his 26-year-old friend.
Luke Sullivan, who was found to have cocaine in his system, was then shown running away from the scene of the fatal collision in Leicester Road, Anstey.
Today (Wednesday), as the 23-year-old was jailed for six years and eight months for causing the death of Kieran Andrews by dangerous driving, police have released the footage to highlight the serious impact dangerous driving can have on numerous lives.
Officer in the case, Detective Constable Paul Hicks from the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “When you are driving, you are ultimately in charge of a potentially dangerous weapon. If you are not fully in control when you are driving, you are putting the lives of yourselves and others at so much risk as this case has tragically shown.”
Sullivan, of Link Road, Anstey, had been driving the black BMW car on the morning of Saturday 18 March last year with Mr Andrews as a front seat passenger and a second male passenger in the back.
Luke Sullivan
The vehicle had left the Station Road area of Glenfield at around 10.17am with CCTV and dashcam footage gathered by police showing the car being driven erratically and dangerously overtaking other vehicles.
The collision happened at about 10.30am in Leicester Road, Anstey, when the car appeared to lose control before mounting a grass verge and colliding with wooden fencing and a lamppost.
CCTV showed Sullivan running from the collision. Members of public at the scene tried to help Mr Andrews along with paramedics but sadly he was pronounced deceased at the scene. A post mortem examination found Mr Andrews had sustained a fatal chest injury. The passenger in the rear of the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Officers launched an investigation and worked to locate Sullivan throughout the day before being contacted by a family member of the defendant’s during the evening after he had returned home. This led to Sullivan’s arrest that evening.
Sullivan was taken to hospital to be checked on after suffering minor injuries in the collision. A preliminary drug test carried out at the hospital showed positive for cocaine.
Following a full police investigation, Sullivan was charged in December 2023. At Leicester Crown Court in February this year, he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was sentenced today at the same court.
DC Hicks said: “My thoughts today remain with the family of Mr Andrews who have suffered this tragic loss in circumstances that could so easily have been prevented.
“Luke Sullivan took control of a vehicle in the most dangerous circumstances which led to the death of his friend and has also changed his own life forever. This should not have happened and would not have happened if Sullivan had just made the right choice that morning.
“Please think before you get into the driver’s seat of a car. Ask yourself if you are fully in control and if you are not then do not take that risk. It is just not worth it.”