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Woman jailed for three years after killing friend in drink-drive crash
A WOMAN who killed her friend in a drink-drive crash has been sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution.
Sharn Van-Gool and Karl Butler met on the social networking site Facebook and arranged to see a gig at the Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea.
But their evening ended in tragedy when Van-Gool crashed Mr Butler's car into a nightclub wall, killing the 22-year-old in the early hours of November 6 last year.
At the time Van-Gool was a lonely 19-year-old from Gwent in Wales.
She got talking to Mr Butler online and the pair agreed to meet up to see the band Elliot Minor in Southsea.
They were thrown out of the club for drinking from a hip-flask and Van-Gool, who doesn't have a driving licence, ended up driving Mr Butler's Peugeot 206.
She lost control of the car as she drove down Clarendon Road at 40mph, mounted the kerb and without slowing smashed into the wall of The Lounge.
Neither of them were wearing seatbelts and Mr Butler, from Kent, died at the scene. A breathalyser test showed Van-Gool had 135 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood - more than one-and-a-half times over the limit of 80 microgrammes.
Judge Roger Hetherington said: 'This offence has had devastating consequences in particular for the family of Karl Butler.
'He was a much-loved young man, generally sensible - even cautious - in what he did and the loss is very difficult to bear.'
Van-Gool, now 20, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the limit.
Stephen Smyth, defending, said she had suffered depression and was struggling to cope with her guilt.
'There is something particularly tragic about this young man's death,' he said.
'It devastated his life, obviously, and his parents and the life of the young lady who killed him.
'There's no sentence that this court can pass that Sharn Van-Gool is not already giving herself. It has completely shattered her life.'
THE police who investigated the crash that killed Karl Butler say it was a tragic case.
Mr Butler, 22, had booked a room for him and Sharn Van-Gool at the Duke of Buckingham bed and breakfast in Old Portsmouth.
But after they were thrown out of a gig at the Wedgewood Rooms in Southsea the pair got into his car and drove around.
Inspector Allan Peacock, from the road death investigation team, said: 'It's a tragic incident where a 22-year-old male has died from an innocent night out where there was probably no intention to drive.
'They end up driving a car and someone dies. The message is no matter what happens put the car keys somewhere else so you can't get at them. This has ruined the family of Karl Butler and the driver who has now just been sentenced to three years.
'The family are devastated by the loss of their son who was acting out of character.'
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Friday 10 February 2012
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