Mum said driver would kill her before fatal crash

A terrified passenger predicted a speeding drink driver would kill her shortly before he lost control and fatally fulfilled her fear, a court has heard.

Jade Duncan, 41 and from Dundee, made frantic calls to a friend as Sean Hogan, a banned driver in a dangerously unroadworthy car, raced down the A1 from Scotland into Northumberland in 28 January, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Her children said she was the "most loving, caring and vibrant" woman and the crash was "entirely preventable".

Hogan, 46, who had been given a suspended sentence for dangerous driving just five days before killing Ms Duncan, was jailed for 13 years and four months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.

On 23 January, Hogan was jailed for 16 months, suspended for a year, and banned from driving for 15 months at Luton Crown Court for five offences including aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving, prosecutor Omar Ahmad said.

Hogan had previously been banned from driving in Ireland for six years in both 2012 and 2020, the court heard.

On 27 January, he drove to see a friend in Dundee, whom Ms Duncan was also staying with, the court heard.

After hearing he was homeless, she offered to let him stay in a house she owned in Wallsend, North Tyneside, with the pair agreeing to travel down together the following day, the court heard.

The pair set off in Hogan's black Peugeot 407, which had failed an MOT days before with two dangerous and six major faults, the court heard.

At about 19:30 GMT, Hogan crashed into a car on a roundabout at Haddington in Scotland but drove off, the court heard.

Ms Duncan sent multiple messages to her friend saying Hogan was drunk and "going to kill her", the prosecutor said.

She also called the friend and said Hogan had "hit a car", was "doing 100mph" and "is going to kills us", asking her friend in Dundee to "look after my bairns".

Hogan, of Brighton Road, Gateshead, could be heard repeatedly swearing at Ms Duncan and shouting at her to "shut up", the court heard.

Ms Duncan made a final video call at about 20:00 in which she was "screaming", Ahmad said.

About 40 minutes later, Hogan's car hit Highfields roundabout at Berwick at speed, with the car flying 160ft (48m) through the air and crashing down an embankment, the prosecutor said.

Ms Duncan was declared dead at the scene while Hogan spent almost two months in hospital, the court heard.

About four hours after the crash, blood tests showed him to be more than twice the drink drive limit, the court heard.

Investigators reckoned he was travelling at between 73 and 81mph when the vehicle launched off the embankment, which was believed to be an "underestimation" of the speed he was doing when he struck the roundabout, Ahmad said.

In statements read to the court, Ms Duncan's children said the crash was not an accident but a result of Hogan's deliberate choices, for which he was "fully responsible".

Her daughter said it was "entirely preventable" and her family had to "live with the devastating consequences because of [Hogan], who should not have been driving".

"I hope you realise the damage you have caused to our family," Ms Duncan's daughter said to Hogan.

"She was the most loving, caring and vibrant woman," she said, adding: "She was lively, strong and always looked out for everyone.

"She was our everything."

Ms Duncan's son said she was the "heart" of their family, adding she "deserved better".

He said: "My mum deserved more time, more life and more memories with the people who loved her."

Her family were living with a "life sentence of grief, pain and loss," he said.

In mitigation, Richard Herrmann said Hogan spent "every minute of every day wishing he could swap places with" Ms Duncan.

The court heard he suffered a brain injury in the crash and could not remember what happened.

Judge Penny Moreland said Hogan had caused Ms Duncan's family "unbearable pain" and the responsibility for their "terrible loss" lay wholly with him.

She said the dangerous driving lasted more than an hour and Hogan "persistently ignored the warnings" and pleas of his passenger.

Hogan also admitted causing death by driving while disqualified and without insurance.

The judge said Hogan was a dangerous offender with a "long history of blatant disregard for the rules of the road".

Hogan was jailed for 12 years for killing Ms Duncan, with a further four years to be served on extended licence, with his 16-month suspended sentence activated in full and to be served consecutively.

He was also banned from driving for 16 years and must pass an extended test before being allowed to drive again.

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