‘It didn’t need to happen’: Mum’s devastation as drug driver kills ‘perfect’ Newcastle son in head-on crash

A hardworking, loving son was killed when a driver who got behind the wheel after taking a potentially lethal dose of of heroin, veered into the path of his van. Graham Ross, from Chapel House in Newcastle[1], died instantly when a BMW being driven by drugged-up driver Mikah Chandler collided with his van head-on, in Lincolnshire. Ms Chandlar, who was driving without a licence or insurance, was also killed in the 9am horror smash.

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And after a coroner said Graham had been in the “wrong place at the wrong time”, his loved ones have told of their devastation as they made an impassioned plea to anyone anyone considering driving after taking drugs.

Graham’s mum, Tracey Richardson said: “It’s just heart-breaking, I don’t even know how to express it. It just didn’t need to happen. He drove all over the country for his job, then you get people like her on the road.

Tributes at the scene (Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)

“It’s just disgusting.

I just can’t comprehend why anyone would get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of drugs, never mind what she took. They have basically said Graham was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s really hard to bear.

He was just going to work.” And his sister Samantha Hollingsworth added: “I never thought I would lose my brother this way. She shouldn’t have been on the road.

It’s disgusting that someone can take what she had then get behind a wheel. You are putting yourself and everybody else at risk. We have seen first hand how much pain it causes.

She could have wiped out a whole family.”

Graham Ross, who was killed in a car crash (Image: Handout)

Electrical engineer Graham regularly travelled around the country as part of his job, his family said. But what should have been a safe journey on the A16 turned to tragedy on the morning of April 24. An inquest in Lincoln was today told how Ms Chandler was driving towards Grimsby when the collision happened Dashcam footage from Newcastle United fan Graham’s grey Ford van played a the hearing, showed her black BMW pull out from behind a Ford Kuga into the path of the van.

A forensic collision investigation report concluded Graham would have had just one second to react. A post mortem examination revealed both drivers died from multiple injuries, while a toxicology report revealed the BMW driver had “a potentially fatal amount of heroin in her system.” Lincolnshire coroner, Paul Cooper said there was also cocaine, pregabalin and diazepam in her blood.

Mr Cooper said there was nothing Graham could have done to avoid the head-on collision.

(Image: Handout)

“All those substances should not have been in her system as she drove.,” he said.. “Mr Ross was the most unlucky man on this road in the wrong place at the wrong time on this day. It is a tragedy this happened.” After hearing horrifying details of how her son was killed Tracey told the Chronicle how the crash had robbed her of the “perfect” son.

The 55-year-old, from Fawdon, said: “You couldn’t ask more from him, he was a perfect son. He would go to work and then come home and spend the weekends with us. He loved to play snooker with his cousin and he liked to watch the match.

He was just a lovely guy.” Graham’s death has also devastated his siblings Samantha, 36, Laura Turnbull, 58 and Jordan Richardson, 24. Samantha, from Westerhope, said: “He was such a hard-working lad.

He was just lovely. He really enjoyed his job, even when he wasn’t at work he was always helping other people out. He was really outgoing, he had loads of friends.

It’s just such a waste. He was a great brother, we were all really close.” The inquest also heard how motorists had been concerned about the manner of Ms Chandler’s driving before the crash, which happened near the village of North Thoresby.

PC Tristan Hudson, of Lincolnshire Police said witnesses had seen the BMW being driven northbound and swerving to overtake other vehicles inappropriately. Mini Cooper driver Stephanie Edgerton gave a witness statement saying she saw the BMW had earlier swerved in an overtaking move but pulled back into the correct northbound lane. She said the head-on impact was “instant” and there were no indicator flashing when the BMW pulled out.

A father driving his daughter to school also told how he saw the BMW veer into the verge of the A16 earlier, narrowly missing two men in hi-viz vests. The BMW was also driven right up to his bumper . “I thought I was going to feel a nudge,” he said. “I was concerned the driver was going to kill someone because the driving was so careless and dangerous..” A lorry driver also told how he had to take action when the BMW cut him up after overtaking.

And he saw another car driver have to brake to avoid the BMW on a roundabout on the A16 at Louth. PC Hudson said both the BMW and the Ford van were being driven within the 60mph speed limit., but due to the level of intoxication Ms Chandler’s driving would have been “lethargic.” He said there was no evidence that she had been attempting to harm herself. “There was nothing he could have done to avoid the collision,” the crash investigator said. The coroner said Ms Chandler, a mother of five, had been treated by an adduction support group in Grimsby and suffered from anxiety, bi-polar and psychotic episodes.

But In February this year she failed to attend an appointment with a recovery worker and had disengaged with a mental health agency working with her. Graham’s family asked if there had been any police response to the concerns of motorists earlier, one of which reported Ms Chandler’s driving. PC Hudson said he did not know if the report had been acted upon.

An alert was passed from Lincolnshire Police to Humberside Police four minutes before the fatal crash, the inquest heard. Ms Chandler’s mum, Lesley Cartwright said the BMW’s owner was her daughter’s boyfriend and he believed she had a driving licence. He gave her the car keys and was arranging insurance around that time, she said.

The mum said: “If he had known she did not have a licence, he would never have given her the keys.” She later passed her condolences to Graham’s family through a coroner’s officer.

Tracey added: “We have got no justice, and that’s hard.

It was tough to hear, but we have got to do it. for him.”

References

1. ^ Newcastle (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
2. ^ : (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
3. ^ ‘It was just disgusting’: Richie Kilbourne daughter’s agony at hearing how dead dad’s body was ‘dragged’ around (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
4. ^ Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)