'Selfish drink-drivers need to be stopped', says victim's mum

Lauren's death has left the family with torment and pain, mum Claire says

"Totally avoidable" - that is how Claire Danks thinks of her daughter's death at the hands of a drunk driver.

Lauren Danks was killed in 2016 when a speeding drunk driver hit her car before fleeing the scene. Five years on and Cambridgeshire coroner David Hemming issued a stark reminder that these kinds of deaths are still common.

At the conclusion of the death of a drink-driver earlier this month he said his office "is dealing with a number of cases where that [drink-driving] has been an issue."

He said the case served "to remind all of us as drivers we need to heed advice [around drinking and driving] and stay within legal limits" to protect drivers but also other road users.

Claire Danks is in complete agreement, saying the deaths caused by drug and drink-drivers whether it be their own or the lives of others are "unnecessary".

'Ripples of pain'

Lauren loved life says her mum Claire

Lauren Danks, from Soham, was driving home from work on a November night in 2016 having been let off early from her job at a local spa.

Nelson Curtis had downed 10 pints and hit her car at 104mph causing it to spin off the A11 near Red Lodge, Mildenhall, and down an embankment - he did not stop.

"That's what gets to me. I mean obviously it just happened to be my daughter but it could have been anyone on the road that night", says Mrs Danks.

"I wouldn't wish this to happen to anybody. It's a ripple effect of people in pain. It changes your life forever."

"He had no regard whatsoever to anyone's safety, he chose to get in the car over the limit and then didn't stop [when he crashed]. He had no idea what her injuries were, how bad they might be or how many people were in the car."

When Lauren failed to return home her dad Robert went for a drive thinking he would find her having forgotten to fuel her car. Instead he came across the crash site as police were closing off the road and saw his daughter's car.

Mrs Danks says she will never forget the look on her husband's face when he returned home and told her their daughter had died.

She said she was "numb and paralysed" and then sat in a surreal bubble until living the "nightmare" of telling Lauren's three younger brothers their sister was dead.

Six years later Mrs Danks says she and her family live with a different kind of torment and pain that never leaves them.

"It's the continued 'what ifs' and 'what would she be doing, would she have a family?' We're missing all that too. I've been robbed of my daughter but also the life she would have had."

If speaking about her loss helps one family avoid the pain she has suffered, Claire Danks says it will be worth it

Mrs Danks hopes that by sharing Lauren's story she can make people think again before getting behind the wheel if they have been drinking or taking drugs.

"They are selfish, so very selfish and unnecessary and you know there's no need to get in a car drunk and drive. There are always other alternatives and it's a no brainer," she said.

"If you could spend one moment in my feelings without my daughter, I don't believe anyone would get in a car and drink and drive.

"As hard as these things are to talk about, if one person now thinks 'actually I won't do it', that's one less person on the road.

"It's totally avoidable."

Claire Danks says the death of Lauren has rippled through her family making her worry more for her other children

There has also been a knock-on effect she says because now she lives in fear of her children not coming home.

"Kieran just turned 21, that's a big birthday but actually I think his 23rd will be bigger because he'll still be with me and his sister wasn't," she said.

"It's ongoing, I'm constantly worried and then when they learn to drive I don't want them on the road but you can't stop them.

"Lauren loved her life, she would want them to do everything and more. She wouldn't want her story stopping them living their life."

Her message to anyone considering drinking or taking drugs and driving: "Please don't. It's simple, please don't".

'Would you really trust your life to an app?'

"It's not about getting them in trouble, it's about saving a life," PC Nick Southern says

PC Nick Southern is a casualty reduction officer with Cambridgeshire Police. He says emergency services are not trying to ruin people's festive fun, they just want them to be responsible.

"I fully expect people to be out enjoying themselves and encourage that but in a responsible safe way," he said.

He encourages people to contact the police in any way they can if they see that a friend, family member or even a total stranger might be getting behind the wheel while impaired.

"It's not about getting them in trouble, it's about saving a life," he says.

He says some people also rely on apps now to track drinks or drug intake to tell them when they are "good to drive" but he says it is a terrible idea.

"Would you really trust your life to an app? If you've been drinking or taking controlled substances don't drive the morning after."

The cost of a taxi or bus home is "nothing compared to the cost of a life", he says.