UPDATED: Killer driver jailed for four years

1:18pm Friday 5th September 2008

THE family of Corrine Rutter shook their heads and wept as her killer was jailed for four years today.

Matthew Stanton was behind the wheel of a speeding Subaru Impreza when he lost control and skidded across the road hitting trees and lampposts, leaving Corrine dead.

Her head hit the lamppost the car ploughed into and she died almost immediately, Warrington Crown Court heard.

The silent court room heard how Stanton was driving “erratically”, undertaking a van at Sankey Island roundabout before harshly accelerating down Sankey Way hitting speeds of almost 70mph in low gears.

One witness said she expected to see a police car chasing Stanton’s Subaru Impreza because his driving was so erratic.

Stanton lost control of the car after the roundabout and went into a backwards skid leaving tyre marks across the road and grass verge, Sion Ap Mihangel, prosecuting, said.

It hit trees so hard that one was uprooted before colliding with a signpost and a lamppost and then hitting more trees so hard the plastic casing from the car’s rear lights was left embedded in the tree trunk.

Front seat passenger Anton Kost, Corrine’s boyfriend, told the police how after the impact he heard nothing from his girlfriend, who was in the back seat.

The crash had crumpled the car meaning he couldn’t open the back door to get to her but he could see her body slumped forward, he told police.

Witnesses described seeing Stanton climb into the back seat and cradle Corrine’s head, attempting to comfort her.

Despite paramedics’ efforts Corrine, a mum-of-two, died at the scene.

An expert accident report said Stanton had been accelerating too harshly causing him to lose control of the car.

Blood tests taken after the crash, on January 14, showed traces of cocaine in Stanton’s blood, but this was at such a low level it would not have impaired his judgement.

He also told police he had smoked cannabis two days earlier.

Stanton’s car insurance had also lapsed following a failed direct debit, the court heard.

Stanton, who has a clear driving record, showed “genuine remorse” for the accident that killed Corrine, his ex-girlfriend of eight years, said Simeon Evans, defending.

Corrine’s daughters Sophie, aged 12 and Kimberly, aged 11, called Stanton dad, he said.

They now live with Corrine’s sister Lisa and her fiance Mark.

Seventeen of Corrine’s family and friends were in Warrington Crown Court to see Stanton, aged 26, from Chantler Avenue, sentenced.

He received four years in jail and was banned from driving for 10 years.

“Nobody can measure the length of the sentence I impose against the value of the life that was lost because that life is priceless,” said His Honour Judge Roger Dutton, sentencing .

* Editor's note: Due to the nature of some of the comments left, the facility has been taken off this article.