Drink-driver jailed for a decade over fatal crash

Adam Boulton crashed head-on into another car, and officers found empty gin bottles in his footwell

A drink-driver who crashed a Range Rover into a Vauxhall Corsa, killing the driver, has been jailed for ten years.

The head-on collision was on the A54 Holmes Chapel Road, in Sproston near Middlewich, Cheshire, on 12 December 2024, with Adam Boulton found to be almost three and a half times the drink-drive limit.

Paula Chadwick, 52, who was driving the Vauxhall, died in hospital the following day.

Boulton, 36, from Essington Way, Stoke-on-Trent was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting causing death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.

'Slumped'

Following the crash, he was found slumped over in the driver's seat, slurring his words, with a number of empty gin bottles in the passenger footwell, said Cheshire Police.

Eyewitnesses told how his Range Rover Velar had been driven erratically in the moments before the collision, and it was also discovered Boulton had been driving dangerously on the A556 in Tabley in the hours before.

He later tried to claim he was struggling to control the vehicle due to a mechanical fault, but none were found.

"This was a tragic but entirely preventable collision caused by Boulton's poor driving and his catastrophic decision to drive while under the influence," said Det Insp Andrew Dennison.

An innocent woman had lost her life as a result of his actions, stated the collision investigator.

"Paula's family have been left devastated following her death and I hope that, in some small way, this gives the family some comfort knowing justice has been served."

Boulton has also been banned from driving for seven years after his release from prison.