Drug driver given 12 years for fatal head-on crash

Paul Kingcombe was jailed for 12 years and banned from driving for 13 years

A drug driver has been jailed for 12 years for causing a head-on collision that left a grandfather dead and his family injured.

Paul Kingcombe, 51, of Collin Close, Plymouth, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and three charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving on the A388 near St Dominick, in Cornwall, on 27 December 2022.

Truro Crown Court heard Paul May, 65, died from multiple wounds including serious head injuries and his wife, daughter and her partner were seriously injured.

Judge Simon Carr also banned Kingcombe from driving for 13 years and told him "your drug use was out of control at the time".

'Significant speed'

The court was told Kingcombe had cocaine in his system when he lost control of his car.

It heard he took drugs at work to stay awake and drove vehicles in his job.

Kingcombe's Vauxhall Zafira car hit a kerb before he oversteered to get back on the road at significant speed, the court heard.

It was then that his car collided head-on with a Honda Jazz car containing Mr May, his wife, his daughter and her partner.

Miss Hollie Gilbery, prosecuting, said Kingcombe had no recollection of the collision and said he must have blacked out and got his foot stuck under the pedal.

Mr May's family said he had been "the glue that held the family together".

His widow Helen told the court that Mr May had beaten cancer twice and had been due to retire.

"Kingcombe ruined my life when he killed my husband and my kids' dad," she said.