Driver jailed over the Leicester crash that killed a woman on her 60th birthday night out

What the court heard and the sentences passed after the crash

Thomas Goulty, 36, of Aikman Avenue, Leicester, was driving was caught speeding in a residential 30mph limit on Glenfield Road.

The reckless driving ended with a collision into a taxi on 16 September 2023.

Donna, who was from the city, was thrown from the taxi through an open window and subsequently died from the accident.

Brother and sister Steve and Andrea Sidsaff, also passengers in the back of the taxi, were seriously injured.

The siblings, who did not know Brighton, had come to Leicester for the Radio 2 in the Park festival.

The three shared the taxi because they were going the same direction.

Goulty was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after admitting causing Brighton's death and causing serious injuries to the other passengers by careless driving, according to BBC News' report from the hearing.

Sarwar Mohammad, 69, was driving the taxi and admitted the same offences, was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Prosecutor Steven Bailey said the collision was the result of the "combined bad driving of Thomas Goulty and Sarwar Mohammad", as the taxi made a right turn towards Westfield Road across the central reservation of the dual carriageway.

The court heard Goulty drank two lagers before driving and sent someone a message minutes before the crash saying he was "just out having a couple of beers".

He tested positive for alcohol in a roadside test immediately afterwards, but later assessments could not conclude that he was over the driving limit.

Bailey described Goulty's speed as "excessive", up to 64mph (102km/h) on approach and 55mph at the point of impact.

"He had left himself little or no calculation time and any braking was far too late," he said.

"He drove too quickly for the road and its conditions, about twice the speed limit, having taken alcohol and in the dark."