Drug-fuelled driver who killed 'hero' teen jailed

Steven Wallace fled after crashing into a bus stop and killing a teenager

A "coward" who crashed his speeding car into a bus stop while high on cocaine, killing a 19-year-old man, has been jailed for seven years and eight months.

Steven Wallace, 22, was travelling at almost twice the 30mph speed limit when he lost control of his BMW 320i and smashed into Joe Scott in Newcastle in October 2023, the city's crown court heard.

Mr Scott pushed his 19-year-old girlfriend to safety, but he was flung into the air and fatally injured in the incident, with Wallace then fleeing the scene.

Wallace admitted causing death and serious injury by driving, and to being more than five times the drug-drive limit.

Mr Scott and his partner were waiting for a bus to take them to the gym when the bus shelter, on West Denton Way, was struck by Wallace's BMW at about 16:00 GMT on 15 October, prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said.

Wallace was travelling at at least 57mph when he lost control on a roundabout, and 49mph when he struck the bus stand, Mr Wardlaw said.

Mr Scott shouted "watch out!" and pushed his girlfriend out of the way of the car, the court heard.

Joe Scott pushed his girlfriend to safety, but was killed in the incident

While other motorists and passers-by stopped to help Mr Scott and his injured girlfriend, Wallace ran away, the court heard.

He was arrested later at his home. Drug tests found he had 265mcg of cocaine in a litre of blood - the legal limit being 50mcg, Mr Wardlaw said.

When he was being put in a police car, Wallace asked if "the kid" was dead and if he would be "going to jail for a long time", the court heard.

In his interview, he claimed the car, which he had bought three days before, had been defective - but collision experts said mechanical faults played no part in the crash.

Mr Scott's partner suffered leg injuries which required surgery and kept her in hospital for five days, with ongoing physiotherapy required, the court heard.

'Stupid and selfish'

In a statement read to the court by a relative, Mr Scott's father said his son was his best friend and the family was "heartbroken and tortured" by his death.

He said Mr Scott was their "hero", and they were "so proud of the young man he had become".

He added: "It's a shame and disgrace our lovely boy has had his life snatched away from him by a stupid coward, who didn't even have the decency to stop and help him."

Wallace was an "idiot" who thought he was "clever" and was "showing off to his mates, like some kind of big man" while driving "high as a kite on drugs, way over the speed limit," Mr Scott's father said.

Mr Scott's partner said she had lost her "love" and "future", and said she felt guilty for surviving when he did not.

She described Mr Scott as a funny, caring and thoughtful man, who would have "done anything to protect the ones he loved" - as he did by saving her life that day.

She said Wallace, who has two young children, was a "coward" who didn't deserve to be a father given his cocaine habit, calling his actions "stupid and selfish".

In mitigation, Richard Herrmann said Wallace, of Lonnen Avenue in Newcastle, was deeply sorry for what happened.

'Brutal and swift'

Judge Tim Gittins said Wallace should not have been driving and was "showing off".

He said, although Wallace had taken the cocaine the night before, the crash was a "stark lesson" to all those "arrogant enough to think it is safe and appropriate to drive after taking drugs" given how long substances remained "active and impairing".

While others who witnessed the "horror" of the collision stayed to try and help, Wallace chose to flee which was "cowardly", he added.

Judge Gittins said Mr Scott "did not stand a chance" and his "last words and act typified" his character, commending his "selfless" actions "trying to warn and protect his girlfriend".

He said Mr Scott planned to marry and spend the rest of his life with his partner, but Wallace had "cut short their dreams" in a "brutal and swift manner".

Wallace, who also admitted driving without insurance and failing to stop after a crash, was banned from driving for nine years 10 months, and must take an extended test.