Ecstasy crash driver jailed

Irvine denied taking ecstacy before driving home

A teenage motorist who caused the death of his best friend after taking ecstasy has been jailed for two years.

Daniel Irvine, 19, lost control of the car on the A45 near Northampton as he drove home from a rave having had just three hours sleep.

His front seat passenger, 17-year-old Christopher Mason, died in the accident.

Irvine was found guilty at an earlier hearing of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of a drug.

Jail unavoidable

Judge Richard Bray, sitting at Northampton Crown Court on Friday, told Irvine he had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence.

"I have a duty to protect the public. People who attend raves having taken illegal drugs present a risk not simply to themselves, but to the public at large," he said.

"A custodial sentence is necessary in this case."

Irvine, of Nursery Gardens, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, set off home after the Gatecrasher music festival in Northamptonshire on 18 June last year.

Drug denial

Irvine and two other friends travelling in the car escaped serious injury.

A two-day trial at Northampton Crown Court last month heard that Irvine lost control of the car at 70 mph and crashed down an embankment before hitting a tree.

He denied having taken any drugs at the festival, but a police surgeon suspected he was under the influence of an illegal substance.

A subsequent blood test revealed he had 0.42 microgrammes of ecstasy per millilitre, which the court was told was moderately high.

Drowsiness blamed

Irvine told his trial that drugs were freely available at the rave, and that they were being pushed on people.

But he denied taking drugs, and said it was not possible that he could have taken them unwittingly.

Nicholas Dean, prosecuting, said Irvine had fallen asleep through "fatigue, drowsiness and apathy".

Irvine was banned from driving for three years.