Their 18-month-old child

A man was over the drink drive limit and speeding at nearly 90mph when he lost control of his car in snow and collided with a tree on the M180 - tragically killing his wife and seriously injuring their 18-month-old son. His wife, Roxana Pitigoi, 34, died the following day in hospital after the crash near Barnetby on January 5 this year. At Hull Crown Court[1] Marius Dencea, 35, of Berkeley Street, Scunthorpe[2] was jailed after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and another offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, Senior Crown Advocate, Jeremy Evans told how Dencea had been drinking the night before at an address in Grimsby where his wife's sister was living. Despite pleas from relatives he decided he would drive back to the family home in Scunthorpe, even though the roads were affected by snow. His wife was a rear seat passenger along with her 18-month-old son, who was not in a child restraint.

They left Grimsby[3] shortly before 11am. Other motorists described the speed of Dencea's westbound black Mitsubishi Outlander as excessive, with one motorist estimating the speed between 80 to 90mph. The lorry driver said it was a speed he associated with police on blue lights attending an emergency.

In a statement read to the court, the driver said: " I would describe the car passing me like a traffic police vehicle would pass me on a blue run.......was going so fast it shook the cab of my HGV and I just did not see it coming it was travelling that fast." Another motorist told how he saw the Outlander overtake his car and lose control in front of him. A driver described the car as "spinning" out of control and crossing the inside lanes before leaving the carriageway.

Mr Evans said a number of passing motorists should be commended for stopping to offer assistance, among them an off-duty police inspector. The other drivers could smell alcohol on Dencea's breath. The inspector helped recover the child from the car.

He found the female passenger unresponsive. A breath sample taken by police showed the driver had 51 mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath, the legal limit being 35 mcgs. Mr Evans said Ms Pitigoi was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary but she sadly died the following day.

The child spent 10 days in intensive care in hospital in Sheffield, where he was treated for head injuries, fractured skull, broken jaw and broken leg and pelvis.

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If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice[5]. Metal plates were implanted in his jaw. Mr Evans said the child's grandparents have moved to the UK to look after the grandson and plan to move back to Spain in the long-term.

He said vehicle examiners found the Outlander to be unroadworthy due to worn tyres. Following analysis of the cameras on the A180 and M180 it was calculated the minimum average speed of Dencea's car was 88mph. From a collision investigator's report Mr Evans said the cause of the crash was "a combination of excessive speed for prevailing weather conditions and defective tyres with low tread depth contributed to the vehicle losing control."

Dencea had been banned from driving in Spain after a drink or drug driving offence.

He had been banned for eight months in February 2023.

Judge Mark Bury jailed Dencea for a total of nine years.

References

1. ^ Hull Crown Court (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
2. ^ Scunthorpe (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
3. ^ Grimsby (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
4. ^ click the link (tiny.cc)
5. ^ Privacy Notice (bit.ly)