A man who killed his girlfriend in a high-speed police chase after he tried to fly drugs and phones into prison by drone has been put behind bars for eight years.
Craig Kearney, 27, of McNair Road, from Southall , fled the scene at high speed after Metropolitan Police responded to reports of a drone hovering over Wandsworth Prison on August 9, 2016.
While in a 30mph zone, the Old Bailey heard Kearney reached speeds of 91mph during the one-mile chase, before he crashed in Wandsworth Bridge Road.
His Peugeot, which was “barely recognisable” after the crash, spun out of control and smashed into the front wall of a house in Fulham.
Crime in the news
The passenger side, where 25-year-old nursery worker Acacia Smith had been sitting without her seatbelt on, was flattened, the court heard.
Describing the wrecked vehicle, one officer said it was “totally crumpled, as though it had been taken to the car pound and crushed”.
Ms Smith died from multiple injuries and her boyfriend, who had 15 previous convictions – including ones for speeding and having no insurance – was badly injured.
Metropolitan Police officers found a drone, cannabis wraps, “psychoactive” substances and mobile phones in the car.
Afterwards, Kearney claimed one of the police cars had caused the crash, but Judge Richard Marks QC said that was nothing but a “bare-faced lie".
He pleaded not guilty to a single charge of causing Ms Smith's death by dangerous driving but later admitted it before the trial.
It was also accepted that Kearney had been involved in an attempt to smuggle the contraband into Wandsworth jail, although he was not charged for it.
'Life will never be the same'
During the trial, Ms Smith's grandfather Lester Smith described the nursery nurse, who worked in several Acton-based nurseries, as an “amazing young lady”.
He said: “We had a very close relationship. She was my special girl. She was my granddaughter and I loved her very much.
"Acacia was supposed to bury me but instead, because of Craig and Craig alone, the saddest day of my life, I buried her.
"Her life cut short, Acacia can never be replaced. Life will never be the same. Nothing will bring her back and nothing will ever make this okay."
Mitigating, Alex Jamieson, suggested the defendant wanted to apologise for what happened and said: “Miss Smith died at his hands.
“It was his fault and no-one else. He and Miss Smith loved each other. They had been together for eight years. They were committed to each other.
“He has killed the woman he loves, this is something he will have to bear for the rest of his life.”
Judge Marks said Kearney's apology would have carried “more weight” if he had not lied to police and had pleaded guilty straight away.
At the sentencing on Thursday (February 1), he said the fact Kearney had been involved in “the commission of very serious offences” and had been driving at “grossly excessive speed” were aggravating factors.
Kearney was jailed for eight years and was disqualified from driving for six years, with an extension of four years, after his release from prison.
The Southall resident cried as he was led away from the docks and shouted “I love you” to someone in the public gallery.
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