Driver who killed partner in 100mph crash jailed for five years

Sam Barber had only picked up his new BMW the day before the crash

A driver who killed his partner in a 100mph crash has been jailed for five years.

Sam Barber, 28, had only picked up his new BMW 315i the evening before the crash on the A72 in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, in March 2022.

He lost control on a stretch of the road where the limit was 60mph, before crashing into a field with the car flipping onto its roof.

Passenger Beth Damer, 20 - who had been Barber's partner for a year - was fatally injured.

Barber, from Peebles in the Borders, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after previously pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

It emerged the forestry worker already had convictions for careless driving and speeding.

Judge Lord Arthurson told Barber he would have received a jail term of six-and-a-half years had it not been for his guilty plea.

He said: "The eloquent family impact statement I have read makes it plain just how much Beth Damer will be missed by her parents and brothers.

"She will forever be in their memories, a young woman with a whole life ahead of her, one with potential, promise, fulfilment and achievement.

"In the words of the impact statement, she had 'a beautiful life cut short'."

Sliding 'like a rally car'

The court had heard how Ms Damer, from Crawford, South Lanarkshire, had gone with Barber to collect his new car the evening before the crash.

A witness to the crash described seeing the BMW "shooting past".

Another driver recalled the car "losing control" before it hit a fence and ploughed into a field. It then rolled onto its roof once or twice.

This witness said: "He went past me... as if like a rally car sliding at an angle."

Prosecutor James Irvine told the court: "Collision investigators examined the scene and formed the opinion Barber was driving at a speed of 103mph (166kmph)

"The A72 is restricted to a national speed limit for cars of 60mph."

He added the cause of the crash was "solely" how fast the BMW was going.