Banned Sunderland killer driver Reece Roberts jailed after dragging tragic Diane Jones nearly 200ft under wheels of speeding car
A killer hit-and-run driver dragged a much loved mum nearly 200ft under the wheels of his speeding car when he went out for milk while banned from the roads.
Diane Jones, 59, had been making her way home after a night out in Sunderland with her friend on February 14 this year when she was struck by Reece Roberts in a Volvo XC90 as she crossed the road.
Newcastle Crown Court heard she suffered catastrophic injuries, including her leg being dismembered, after being pulled along by the vehicle near the Holy Rosary Church, in Durham Road.
Roberts, who has been jailed before after causing serious injury by dangerous driving and who said he had used his girlfriend's car that night to get milk, sped away and left Miss Jones to die in the road.
At his sentence hearing on Wednesday, Miss Jones's devastated daughter, Hannah Jones, said her mother “had a beautiful soul She and heaven will be as blessed as we were to receive it".
She told Roberts: "I hope she haunts you for the rest of your days."
Prosecutor Omar Ahmad told the court Roberts is estimated to have been travelling at 77mph shortly before he struck Miss Jones.
Mr Ahmad said: "Upon impact, Miss Jones was dragged by the vehicle for approximately 58 metres along the carriageway before she came to a rest in the middle of the road.
"The defendant didn't stop or seemingly even hesitate while dragging Miss Jones down the road or after.
"He continued driving at excessive speed."
The court heard witnesses had seen Roberts' driving in an "erratic and dangerous" manner before and after he hit Miss Jones.
After the collision, passers-by and emergency workers tried to save Miss Jones but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Ahmad said her injuries were “catastrophic” and added: "Her left leg was dismembered.
"She had suffered major torso injuries that ultimately proved to be fatal."
Roberts, 27, of Florida Street, in Sunderland, admitted causing death while dangerous driving while disqualified from driving and while uninsured.
In 2020 he was jailed for causing serious injury to a man by dangerous driving and was given a ban with an extended test requirement.
Judge Tim Gittins has jailed him for 10 years and eight months on Wednesday with a five-year extended licence and a 20 years and one month road ban.
The judge told him: “You deliberately, arrogantly and selfishly ignored the disqualification and chose not just to drive but to do so in the most obviously dangerous fashion.
“You were a fatal accident waiting to happen and sadly so it proved to be.
“All for the reason of going out for some milk.”
Judge Gittins branded Roberts “cowardly and callous” for leaving the mum lying in the road and added: “Her injuries were gruesome and catastrophic and fatal.
“The only small comfort is she is likely to have known nothing of what befell her.”
The judge said Roberts “ripped the heart” out of Miss Jones' family.