Drink driver, 30, caught on CCTV downing 11 whiskies and Jagerbombs before getting behind the wheel and killing a father on his way home to his wife and three children is jailed for 12 years
- Footage shows Arron Dunlop making numerous trips to the bar and drinking
A drink driver was caught on CCTV downing 11 whiskies and Jagerbombs minutes before he sped away from a pub and killed a loving father on his way home to his wife and three children.
Footage shows Arron Dunlop, 30, making numerous trips to the bar and sitting at a table throwing back drink after drink in the course of a three hour session.
He then leapt into his Audi A5 and drove away at ‘grossly excessive speed’ before mowing down loving family man Paul Greenfield as he went home from his shift at a crisp factory on his 125cc motorbike.
Dunlop and a passenger did not stop to help or call the emergency services – instead they fled the crash scene in Stockton on Tees and were caught at Newcastle Airport 50 miles away, waiting to board a flight to Alicante.
Dunlop was jailed for 12 years by a judge at Teesside Crown Court who said Mr Greenfield’s death was the ‘utterly tragic and senseless consequence’ of Dunlop’s actions.
Dunlop drank over the course of a three hour session before getting behind the wheel
Loving family man Paul Greenfield as he went home from his shift at a crisp factory on his 125cc motorbike
Dunlop was jailed for 12 years by a judge at Teesside Crown Court
Paul Greenfield was a father to three children – Tom, 21, Jacob, 10, and Heidi, nine. ‘He was a true family man,’ his wife said
The killer driver, who admitted causing death by dangerous driving, was seen drinking double Southern Comforts with lemonade along with five Jägerbombs before he got behind the wheel on June 8 this year.
A barmaid who served Dunlop at the George and Dragon pub in Stockton said she would have ‘rugby tackled him’ if she had known he was about to drive.
Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said Dunlop crashed into the back of Mr Greenfield’s Honda motorbike and he was ‘carried on the bonnet before coming to rest on a grass verge’.
Dunlop, he said, made no effort to ring emergency services or help Mr Greenfield who was ‘clearly badly injured’.
Police caught up with him at Newcastle Airport, where he refused to give a breath sample as he’d ‘had four pints at the airport’.
CCTV cameras were checked and between 6.30pm and 7.30pm Dunlop was seen drinking three double Southern Comforts and lemonade and three Jägerbombs.
He drove away and came back, colliding with a car as he parked outside the pub. He was then seen drinking three more Southern Comfort and lemonades and two Jägerbombs.
A barmaid confirmed that she had served Dunlop six double shots of spirits. She added that she would have ‘rugby tackled’ him for his keys if she had known he was driving.
Footage shows Arron Dunlop, 30, making numerous trips to the bar and sitting at a table throwing back drink after drink
Dunlop going to the pub where he was seen drinking
He was caught on CCTV downing 11 whiskies and Jagerbombs
He leapt into his Audi A5 and drove away at ‘grossly excessive speed’
He left the pub at 9.21pm and was described by a witness as ‘flying’ along the A1027 road before ploughing into the back of Mr Greenfield’s bike.
In a statement to the court Mr Greenfield’s wife told how the pair had met at work at K P Foods and later moved in together before starting a family.
Paul Greenfield was a father to three children – Tom, 21, Jacob, 10, and Heidi, nine. ‘He was a true family man,’ his wife said.
The Middlesbrough court heard how Dunlop has previous convictions for aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving and driving without insurance or a licence.
Tom Bennett, mitigating, stated that Dunlop suffers from ‘psychological issues’ as a result of a historical assault and turned to alcohol as a ‘coping mechanism’. Mr Bennett said: ‘He should not have been drinking and driving.’
He told the court that Dunlop left the scene in a ‘state of shock’ but he had ‘genuine remorse’.
Dunlop made no attempt to help Paul and instead immediately abandoned the car and made off
The Recorder of Middlesbrough Paul Watson QC described the death of Paul Greenfield as a ‘utterly tragic and senseless consequence’ of Dunlop’s actions. He stated that Dunlop was driving at ‘grossly excessive speed’.
Dunlop, of Eaglescliffe, Stockton, was jailed for 12 years and disqualified from driving for 16 years.
Senior Investigating Officer, Temporary Detective Superintendent Chris Motson, said: ‘I am pleased with the sentence handed to Arron Dunlop today. Paul was travelling home to his family after his shift at work and unfortunately he never arrived. Whilst nothing will ever bring back Paul, I hope that today’s outcome will bring his family some form of comfort.
‘Arron Dunlop had previously been convicted of traffic offences and on the night that he fatally injured Paul Greenfield, he had consumed alcohol whilst drinking in the pub for hours beforehand.
He then got into his car and was travelling at excessive speed when Paul was tragically killed.
‘Afterwards Dunlop made no attempt to help Paul and instead immediately abandoned the car and made off. He travelled to the airport where he attempted to leave the country to evade justice.
‘The instant actions carried out by officers meant that he was tracked down and arrested before he could get on a flight.
‘Dunlop will now spend time behind bars to consider his actions that night, which stole a loving father and husband from his family. This case is sadly one which highlights the dangers of driving whilst under the influence and driving dangerously at excess speed.’
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