- One of the two vehicles’ passenger, Bethany Branson, died at the scene.
- Hawkes also refused to take a roadside breathalyser or swab test for drugs and alcohol.
- Hawkes was involved in another road traffic collision on the same evening.
A man has been sentenced to ten years in prison for the death of a 19-year-old woman in a car accident.
On November 8, Luke Hawkes, 28, was driving a white Ford Transit van at high speed when it ran a red light and collided with two cars on the A38 Taunton Road near Bridgwater, Somerset.
One of the two vehicles’ passenger, Bethany Branson, died at the scene.
Hawkes, of Wadham Close, Bridgwater, was heard on police cameras saying: “I’m glad she’s dead, she deserved it,” Taunton Crown Court heard.
Hawkes admitted to causing death by driving recklessly and failing to provide a specimen.
He was also barred from driving for 12 years and seven months.
Paying tribute to their “big-hearted” and “compassionate” daughter after the sentencing, Ms Branson’s parents, Amy and Ben Branson, said “no sentence length will change Bethany’s future or make our own future okay”.
Prior to the crash, Hawkes was involved in another road traffic collision on the same evening further up the A38, near the Showground Roundabout.
According to the court, he drove away from the scene before colliding with Ms Branson’s car.
Three more people, including Hawkes, were treated for minor injuries.
Hawkes also refused to take a roadside breathalyser or swab test for drugs and alcohol, according to the court.
Avon and Somerset Police officers wearing body cameras captured Hawkes saying: “I hope I got someone killed. But, you know what, I’ll get three, four, or five years. I hope I killed them.”
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