Driver 16 times over drug limit jailed for killing cyclist
A motorist who got behind the wheel with cocaine far over the legal limit has been jailed for nine years after veering across a country road and killing a cyclist in a head-on crash.
Daniel Booth, 31, admitted causing the death of 56-year-old Neil Routley, who was struck as he cycled along the B4461 Aust Road near the Severn Bridge in South Gloucestershire on 29 June last year. Bristol Crown Court heard that Booth, of Lydney in the Forest of Dean, had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing, according to reporting by ITV News West Country.
The court was told that Booth had taken cocaine roughly 12 hours before the collision, and that the delayed effects had impaired his driving. Tests later found 14 micrograms of cocaine in his system, against a legal limit of 10, and 800 micrograms of benzoylecgonine — a substance produced as the body breaks down the drug — against a limit of 50, some 16 times the permitted level.
Dashcam footage from his Mercedes, released by Avon and Somerset Police, captured the minutes leading up to the crash. Booth could be seen repeatedly striking kerbs and verges, and heard yawning and remarking that he felt tired, before the car drifted across the carriageway at about 46mph and into Mr Routley’s path. Emergency services were called at around 12.30pm, but the cyclist died from catastrophic injuries. Booth was arrested at the scene.
Separately released police bodycam footage shows the moment Booth, lying in what appears to be the back of an ambulance, was told what had happened. “Unfortunately, that cyclist has died, so at the moment I’m arresting you on suspicion of death by dangerous driving,” the officer says, adding that a roadside drugs wipe had returned positive for cocaine and that he was also being held on suspicion of driving while unfit. Booth rubbed his face as his rights were read to him.
Mr Routley, from Winterbourne, had spent two decades teaching maths at Patchway High School before leaving to set up his own bike-servicing business. He remained a keen instructor, helping his customers and teaching archery, and was a familiar figure in the cycling community. In a tribute, his wife Jo described him as “a much-loved husband, brother and son” and said the family was “devastated” by his loss. He had gone out for a morning ride on a hot Sunday and was due home for lunch so the couple could walk together that afternoon. “Tragically, he never came home,” she said, describing his death as the result of “a selfish and thoughtless act.” The court also heard how she now panics whenever the doorbell rings.
Sentencing, Judge Martin Picton accepted that Booth was remorseful but said the dangers of drug-driving were well known. As well as the nine-year term, Booth was disqualified from driving for five years and must pass an extended test before he can hold a licence again.
The investigating officer, Emma Ling of Avon and Somerset Police, said the case had devastated Mr Routley’s family and warned that taking drugs hours before driving sharply increases the risk of a serious collision. Senior Crown Advocate Christine Hart, of the Crown Prosecution Service, thanked the family for their “patience and dignity” throughout the proceedings.
