Corby man jailed after A43 race crash led to death of motorist near Kettering and left another seriously injured
A 31-year-old Corby driver accused of racing another man on the A43 near Kettering, which resulted in a fatal road traffic collision, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and disqualified from driving for more than four years.
Andrew Ryan Skinner returned to Northampton Crown Court in June for a re-trial after the jury at his original trial last summer failed to reach a verdict.
This time the jury found Skinner, of Clun Walk, Corby, guilty of causing the death by careless driving of 27-year-old Paulo Carneiro, of Corby, after the pair had been seen apparently racing against each other.
He was also found guilty of causing serious injury by careless driving after an innocent driver – a Kettering man in his 50s – sustained life-changing injuries because of the reckless actions of the other men.
Detective Sergeant Greschner of Northants Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This was a completely avoidable collision on our roads, which has left an innocent member of the public with life-changing injuries and another family without their loved one.
“No sentence can change the devastating consequences their actions have had on so many people, but the choices made that day ultimately cost one man his freedom and another his life.
“Holding a driving licence is both a privilege and a responsibility and there is no place on our roads for drivers who put the lives of innocent members of the public at risk.
“I am pleased to see Skinner dealt with robustly by the court and can say our roads are a safer place without him on them.”
On Friday (July 18), Skinner was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court – jailed for 21 months and disqualified from driving for four years and 10 months. He must sit an extended driving test before he can get his licence back.
The court heard that at 12.10pm on October 30, 2021, Skinner’s blue SEAT Leon car was seen to be engaging in a race with Mr Carneiro’s blue Honda car, as they drove towards Corby from Kettering.
Shortly after the traffic light junction with Weekley Wood Avenue, Mr Carneiro’s Honda span out of control, crossed the central reservation and struck a black Volkswagen Golf travelling in the opposite direction.
Mr Carneiro was airlifted to University Hospital Coventry with serious injuries, but died two days later (November 1, 2021).
The driver of the Golf was treated at Kettering General Hospital for his serious injuries, and in his victim impact statement read out at the sentencing hearing, he said that the collision had had a massive impact on his life, both physically and mentally.
Skinner was found not guilty by the jury in relation to three other charges – causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and dangerous driving.