Sean Hogan, 46, has been sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison for causing the death of Jade Duncan by dangerous driving and driving while disqualified. The fatal crash occurred on January 28, when the Peugeot 407 carrying Duncan and Hogan crashed into an embankment in Northumberland.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Duncan, 41, made frantic calls to a friend in Dundee moments before the crash, expressing fear that Hogan, who was driving under the influence of alcohol, would kill them. She specifically asked the friend to look after her two children. The friend received multiple messages and a subsequent video call showing Duncan screaming, which was the last communication before the crash.
Hogan had been banned from driving at the time of the incident. During the journey from Dundee to North Tyneside, he had already been involved in a minor collision with another car in Haddington, East Lothian. Prosecutors stated that Hogan's vehicle traveled at high speed, with Duncan reporting he was driving at 100 mph and had hit another car before going into a field.
The vehicle flew 157 feet before striking the embankment. Ms. Duncan sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. Her children, Raychel and Robbie, provided impact statements describing how their lives were devastated by the event.
Hogan, who has no fixed abode, also admitted to driving while disqualified. He sustained a life-changing brain injury in the crash. The judge, Penny Moreland, stated that Hogan showed an "utter disregard for the risk of danger to others."