'Selfish' fatal crash driver Paul Nichols jailed

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43572003

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A man who killed a motorist travelling in the opposite direction while attempting to overtake a car has been jailed for nine years and six months.

Paul Nichols, 38, was three times over the drink-drive limit when he crashed into Paul Cooper's Peugeot on the A605 near Elton, Cambridgeshire, last June.

Nichols, of Merton Walk, Godmanchester, admitted causing death by dangerous driving at Peterborough Crown Court.

Cambridgeshire Police said his actions were "selfish and deplorable".

PC James Thorne, who investigated the crash, said: "The sentence does not reflect the value that we place on a life but I hope that it serves as a stark reminder to those people who believe it acceptable to drink and drive."

Nichols also admitted causing death whilst uninsured, but that charge was ordered to lie on file. He was handed a 15-year driving ban.

Cambridgeshire Police said Nichols was about 3.2 times over the legal drink-drive limit at the time he crashed his Suzuki Vitara on 25 June.

He clipped the car he was trying to overtake - injuring its five passengers - and it led to his car flipping into the path of Mr Cooper's Peugeot.

Mr Cooper, of Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, died at the scene. Nichols sustained a number of fractures and a pulmonary embolism in the crash.

PC Thorne said: "Nichols took the life of a perfectly innocent man going about his lawful business because of his selfish and deplorable attitude."