George Lewis: Drug driver jailed for killing 'dinosaur-mad' boy, nine, on Yorkshire road as he walked home from cricket training with his father and brother

George Lewis was thrown over a wall and into a field by the impact of the works vehicle driven by Luke Widdop, 51, as he drove home from a shift at Dales Dairies in Grassington to Keighley in September 2021.

The boy died at the scene, while his father Michael and eight-year-old brother were left with cuts and bruises on Sutton Lane, near Sutton-in-Craven.

Widdop did not stop, later claiming he thought he had struck a tree or an overhanging branch, and drank two cans of lager at his flat before noticing the significant damage to his van and a police helicopter overhead. He handed himself in at his local police station later the same night.

Widdop, a recovering heroin addict with numerous previous convictions, appeared at Bradford Crown Court for sentence on Thursday after pleading guilty to causing George’s death by careless driving while unfit through drugs, and Judge Jonathan Rose jailed him for eight years.

Drugs testing revealed the presence of cocaine, cannabis and diazepam in Widdop’s blood, and though he admitted taking crack cocaine the previous day, expert analysis found that the ingestion was likely to have been much more recent.

The court heard that after they had been to The Black Bull pub, Michael Lewis and his sons set off to walk home along Sutton Lane, which has no footpath, to Glusburn. They were facing oncoming traffic, with Michael leading and using his mobile phone’s torch function. They were mostly using the verge, but had to step out into the carriageway when they encountered a large patch of nettles.

Widdop told police ‘who walks their kids on a dark road?’ and claimed he had not been driving fast on the 30mph stretch, but his average speed was later established at 53mph.

A police reconstruction of the collision found no defects to the road, that there were signs warning of pedestrians in the carriageway and no restrictions to a driver’s view.

A victim impact statement from Michael Lewis was read to the court. Mr Lewis, a keen rugby player for Keighley RUFC, had to quit his job in construction due to the broken hand he suffered in the crash, but found an office-based role unsuitable and has since returned to his previous employment, which has become more difficult because of his injury.

Poignantly, neither Mr Lewis nor his parents have seen George’s younger brother since his death, due to a breakdown in the relationship with the boys’ mother. Mr Lewis’s mother said that the family had ‘fallen apart’ since losing George, one of her eight grandchildren, and that she and her husband felt they had lost two grandsons.

Both spoke of George’s intelligence and thirst for knowledge. The Glusburn Primary School pupil was ‘mad about dinosaurs’ and wanted to be a paleontologist.

The court was told that Widdop has over 50 criminal convictions dating back to 1989, including one for drink driving in 2010 and others for driving while disqualified and speeding offences. He had six points on his driving licence for speeding at the time of the collision.

Defending, John Bottomley KC said that Widdop took full responsibility for the tragedy and was determined to learn a trade while in prison. He had offered to take part in restorative justice with the Lewis family, and had requested to be taken into custody ahead of the court case after his property was attacked by vigilantes.

It was confirmed that he had not been charged by West Yorkshire Police until July 2023, and the delay of almost two years in the case coming to court was explained by a large volume of similar collision investigations being dealt with by the force.

Sentencing, Judge Rose said: “George could have led a happy and successful life had it not been for you. You took away his future. His family lost George and all that he could have been.

"You have spent much of your life committing criminal offences. It’s quite apparent that your previous sentences have taught you nothing. You were speeding, you ignored warning signs, and though Michael Lewis heard your rapid approach and urged his boys to move closer to the wall, that was not enough to save them. You struck them all.

"I find your explanation implausible and your mitigation is limited. You struck three human beings.”

Widdop was also disqualified from driving for 11 years and must take an extended re-test.