Drunk mum who run over and killed her boyfriend after downing pints thought she had hit traffic cone | The Sun
A DRUNK mum thought she had hit a traffic cone when she ran over and killed her boyfriend while twice the drink-drive limit.
Lucy Quirke left John Wright, 27, with catastrophic head injuries, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver in the horror crash.
The 38-year-old screamed "help help, he's dead, he's dead. I don't know what to do" when she realised what she had done.
Quirke, who was "hysterical and crying" at the scene in Derbyshire, later told her best friend: "I think I've killed him".
She has now been jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the drink-drive limit.
John's mum tragically told how she still sleeps with her youngest son's ashes next to her as she cannot bear to be without him.
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She added: "To live a life without John is unbearable (and) this has left us, as a family, living in hell.
"My only hope is that John is in heaven and we can meet again."
Derby Crown Court heard Quirke had drunk around four pints with John at the Moonrakers pub in Chesterfield on October 25, 2021, to celebrate his 28th birthday the following day.
The couple then left the pub in Quirke's Vauxhall Corsa just before 11pm after appearing to do a shot.
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After arriving at John's home, CCTV showed him leaving the passenger side and falling in the road as he walked in front of the car.
Quirke – unaware her partner was in front of the vehicle – drove over John's head as she manoeuvred around a parked car.
CCTV showed her getting out the car and approaching John as he lay in the road before pushing him with her foot.
Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said: "There are a number of witnesses who hear her vehicle in the road and later hear her shouting: 'help help' and 'he’s dead, he’s dead. I don’t know what to do'.
"They come out of their home addresses to help and when the defendant is heard talking to one neighbour called Gemma, who asks her what has happened, she replies 'he threw himself in front of my car, Gemma'."
Quirke was almost twice the drink-drive limit when breathalysed at the scene.
She claimed she was meant to leave her car at the pub but the plan changed.
The mum also said she did not see John walk in front of the car and believed she had driven over a traffic cone.
As well as her jail term, Judge Shaun Smith KC also banned Quirke from driving for two years.
Sentencing, he added: "Your negligence behind the wheel led to the loss of life of the man you loved.
"Tragically you ran over him and you had no idea at that stage what you had done, you thought you had run over a traffic cone.
"You worked for many years in the care industry making people feel at ease in their darkest hours. People who work with you speak of your downward spiral since the day of the incident.
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"In your letter (to Mr Wright's family) you say you would swap places with John in a heartbeat and you will carry the guilt with you for the rest of your life."
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