Jailed: drunk driver high on cocaine who killed mother-of-two in south London crash

 
28 February 2014
WEST END FINAL

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A man who was drunk and high on cocaine when he crashed and killed a mother-of-two in south London has been jailed for five years and seven months.

Thomas Lee, 26, was driving at 50mph in a 30mph zone when he lost control of his Citroen Saxo and collided with pedestrian Kremena Mersinkova.

She was walking with her husband Plamen Mersinkov, 45, in the early hours when the car careered off the road and ploughed through a garden fence.

The Bulgarian couple had been working a night shift together as cleaners at University College Hospital and were just minutes away from the home in Whyteleafe, near Caterham they shared with their 16-year-old daughter Rosemary.

Mrs Mersinkova, 40, died at the scene and her husband was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and a dislocated shoulder.

In court he said: "None of these injuries caused me as much pain as I felt when I was searching for my wife who had been thrown into the next garden. At the time I prayed to God to save my wife but I knew she was dead. Kremena was the flame of the family. Nothing is the same as before."

The three occupants of the car - two men and a woman - were all taken to St George's Hospital for treatment. All were later discharged and the driver, Lee, was arrested.

He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and a urine test showed that he was over the drink drive limit and had been taking cocaine and mephedrone.

Lee, who pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court, was also disqualified from driving for five years yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Mick Woollard, of the Met’s Road Death Investigation Unit, said: "This is a tragic loss of a wife and mother of two daughters.

"Lee took drink and drugs before driving a motor vehicle. I'm sure he regrets his actions and is remorseful but there is a clear message here that driving under the influence can kill people."

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