Dangerous driver who killed pregnant mum in front of partner and child in Northampton jailed

A dangerous driver who killed a heavily pregnant mum after getting behind the wheel with traces of cocaine still in his system has been jailed.

The horror incident was witnessed by the partner and daughter of mum-of-four Dulce Lina Mendes Pereira. The 39-year-old was walking with her boyfriend and her youngest daughter in a pram on the afternoon of 29 May, 2021 when she was hit by James Craigie’s car in Northampton town centre at the junction of Greyfriars and Horsemarket. She was seven months pregnant.

Craigie, of Newport Pagnell Road in Wootton, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for over five years.

Harrowing CCTV footage played to the court showed that the seven sets of traffic lights at that junction were red for around 10 seconds before Craigie’s vehicle entered the picture, swerved to avoid stationary traffic and collided with Dulce – dragging her under the vehicle – before he stopped 30 metres after the junction.

Dulce was airlifted to University Hospital in Coventry but attempts to save her and her unborn child were unsuccessful. She left behind four children, who were aged 21, 14, eight and one at the time.

‘A part of me was lost the day I lost my mum’

There was clear visibility that day and the junction was wide and in good condition, the court heard. Andrew Peet, prosecuting, said : “Arriving at that junction the way he did was not how a careful and competent driver would have approached that junction.”

Dulce’s oldest daughter, Veronica, gave a tearful victim impact statement in court that described the pain, devastation, grief and sleepless nights experienced by her family since Dulce’s death and how she had to give up her university studies to take on the role of mother for her younger siblings.

Veronica described losing the person who helped her and understood her when she was at her worst and the person who she wanted to go to university for and have a career for so that she could, one day, come home and tell her, “Mummy, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore, I’ve got you now.”

She said she felt robbed of being able to tell her mother, one day, that she was going to be a grandmother. “A part of me was lost the day I lost my mum,” Veronica said.

As Veronica read out her prepared statement, Craigie held his head in his hands as he sobbed in the dock. His family, who also attended court, wept in the public gallery.

The court heard that, when Craigie was interviewed, he asserted that he had been stamping on his brake pedal but this had no effect. His car, however, was not found to be defective in any way and had passed its MOT just nine days before the fatal collision took place.

Eyewitnesses, in addition, said they did not see the defendant’s brake lights illuminate at any point. A roadside breath test carried out at the scene revealed that there was cocaine in Craigie’s system. A subsequent blood test showed that Craigie was 15 times over the limit for the metabolite for cocaine - benzoylecgonine.

Craigie claimed that he took half a gram of cocaine the previous evening to “top up” from the two grams he ingested the night before. Mr Peet said: “He should not have been anywhere near a car that day.”

Paul Webb, defending Craigie, said: “He would like me to express his deepest remorse and sympathies to Dulce’s family. He thinks about the incident when he wakes up, every evening before he goes to bed and often throughout the day too.”

Mr Webb said that Craigie has suffered with breakdowns and regular flashbacks and he has been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He added that Craigie’s family, who were in the car with him during the fatal collision, are still receiving counselling for what they witnessed that day.

The court heard that Craigie, until that day, was a “hard working family man” with no previous convictions, an “impeccable” driving record and “everything in his future looking positive” until the lives of all involved were turned upside down in a matter of seconds.

Mr Webb, referring to the toxicology report, said that the benzoylecgonine would not in itself have an adverse affect on Craigie’s cognitive function so it is not possible to form a conclusive view that the drugs impaired his driving.

‘This was a horrific scene’

His Honour Judge David Herbert KC, in his sentencing remarks, said: “Dulce was a loving partner and mother and the focal point of all of her children’s lives. She was 39-years-old and had everything to live for.”

He added: “This was a horrific scene - one that was witnessed by her partner and one that was witnessed by her daughter who arrived shortly afterwards. No sentence that I pass today will reduce the grief and loss they will continue to feel for the rest of their lives.”

Craigie was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment and disqualified from driving for seven years and eight months.

Detective Constable Lauren El Sharkawi, from Northamptonshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This case is incredibly sad and there are no words to accurately describe the devastation this incident has caused.

“Dulce Lina Mendes Pereira was a much-loved mother of four young people who will now have to live the rest of their lives without her.

“Her eldest daughter in particular has remained stoic throughout, and her dedication in getting justice for her family has been nothing but admirable. Her life has been turned upside down as she has stepped into her mother’s shoes in caring for her siblings.

“Incidents like this are difficult to investigate as you know that whatever the sentence is, it will never be enough to make up for the loss of a woman like Ms Mendes Pereira. I truly hope that James Craigie reflects on that fact for the rest of his life.”