A “lunatic” driver who killed his girlfriend when he crashed into a tree after driving at 91mph in a 30mph zone has been jailed.

Christopher Mattin, 34, was drunk, on drugs, serving a driving ban and had never even had a full licence when he lost control while driving at dangerous speeds along Stowe Avenue, near Buckingham, on May 10, 2020.

Crashing into a tree after losing control, Mattin’s passenger and girlfriend Sarah Jacobs, a 38-year-old mother, tragically lost her life.

The passenger in the back seat, Mattin’s nephew Ben Gibson, was thrown from the car during the crash and suffered life-changing injuries as a result.

After the crash, the car burst into flames. Mattin was able to escape the wreck, but Ms Jacobs, who died almost instantly following the impact, was badly burned in the vehicle.

Mattin, of Dairy Grounds, Kings Sutton, Oxfordshire, was jailed for 10 years and six months at a hearing at Aylesbury Crown Court this morning (Friday).

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During the hearing, Ms Jacob’s daughter described the pain and anguish she felt at losing her mother.

She said: “My mum was taken from me when it was only 16, I had no warning or time to say goodbye, or to say that I loved her.

“The day she was taken from me was the worst day of my life, when I heard it was like a little bit of my heart had been torn from my chest.

“Three weeks after losing my mum, I lost my baby boy. It felt like I lost any reason to live.

“I don’t want to live any more, I have no strength left. A massive part of me is missing.”

Outlining the evidence, prosecutor Nigel Ogborne told the court how Mattin had been driving Ms Jacob’s Ford Focus when the crash occurred at around 6.27am.

The driver was travelling along Stowe Avenue, towards Buckingham, when he lost control of the vehicle.

An expert crash investigator calculated that Mattin had been driving at 91mph along the 60mph section of road, and maintained that speed when the speed limit changed to 30mph in a residential area.

At this stage, Mattin attempted to steer the vehicle when he saw a parked car. Due to the speed he was travelling at, he lost control and swerved off the road, smashing into a tree.

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The prosecutor described how Ms Jacobs suffered “multiple non-survivable injuries” in the impact and died almost immediately – experiencing little pain.

After the vehicle came to rest on its side, it burst into flames. Neighbours from nearby homes rushed out to help drag Mattin and eventually Ms Jacobs out of the wreck.

Mr Gibson, who fell out of the vehicle after the initial impact, suffered life-changing injuries in the crash, and the court heard how the crash had severely impacted on him.

An hour after the crash, Mattin failed a breathalyser and a drug wipe test.

The court heard how the driver was caught drink driving in 2019, and was still serving a suspension for that offence when the fatal crash took place. He also had no insurance.

Mattin had initially pleaded not guilty to charges of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but changed his plea to guilty two weeks before the trial was due to start.

Sentencing, Judge Francis Sheridan said: “You drove like a bat out of hell, like a complete lunatic and a selfish one, intoxicated and under the influence of drink and drugs.

“We don’t know quite how stoned you were but stoned as you were you killed this young lady’s mum and you maimed your relative.

“You were driving at massive speed, 91mph in a 60 and in a 30, three times the limit. You were clearly unfit to drive.

“Sara Jacobs had her life snuffed out, snuffed out by your dangerous driving”

Mattin was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for causing death by dangerous driving, and for four years and four months for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The two sentences will run concurrently alongside each other.

For both offences he was also given an extended 10 year driving ban.