Drink-driver who killed married couple in 112mph crash in Sussex has been jailed

Benjamin Bosden was found to have a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit and to have been travelling at well over the 60mph speed limit when the tragic incident occurred on the A267 at Cross-In-Hand.

The crash on 9 September 2017 claimed the lives of local residents David and Linda Evans, described by relatives and friends as ‘a shining example of a fun-loving couple with a zest for life’.

It also left his 18-year-old female passenger with life-threatening injuries requiring emergency surgery.

Bosden also sustained serious injuries following the collision, which occurred at about 11.30pm that day.

The 20-year-old student, of Rushlake Green, Heathfield, had been driving a Mini Countryman, John Cooper Works model, northbound when he crossed into the southbound carriageway and smashed into a Ford Ranger travelling in the opposite direction, just north of Meres Lane.

The speedo on the Mini was found stuck at 112mph immediately after the collision.

So severe was the impact that the Ford was stopped in its tracks and pushed backwards off the road. The scene was described by those who came across it as “something out of a war zone or off of the TV.”

The driver of the Ford, David Evans, aged 55, and his wife Linda, aged 48, who was the front passenger, were killed instantly.

David and Linda’s family said: ‘The irresponsible and thoughtless actions of one young man have caused the death of two people. This has led to the immeasurable, intense and wide-ranging grief and feelings of devastation in the lives of so many family members and friends. These lives can never be the same.’

Bosden had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which takes into account the offences of speeding and drink-driving.

At Lewes Crown Court on Monday 3 June, he was sentenced by Her Honour Judge Christine Laing QC to a total of five years’ imprisonment.