An Audi SUV driver who caused the deaths of a father and his close friend in a car crash while over the drink-drive limit has been jailed for 12 years. Laimonas Narvydas, 38, and 44-year-old Kalin Hadzhiev died in the collision on the A13 near Rainham, east London, just before 4.30pm on February 14 last year.
Drink-driving offender
The driver of the black Audi Q5, Lithuania-born construction worker Nerijus Kuneckis, 51, of Olive Road in Plaistow, was overheard telling a doctor that he had been drinking before the crash, saying he had consumed two shots, the Old Bailey heard on Friday. A forensic scientist analysed a blood sample taken two hours after the collision and found that married father Kuneckis was more than twice the legal limit for driving in the UK, which “would be expected to produce significant intoxication”, the court heard.
Judge's remarks
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, told Kuneckis that CCTV of the crash played in court showed a “shocking and frightening sequence of events arising out of your sustained dangerous driving”. He said: “In seconds, the lives of two much-loved individuals were lost.” The judge added that the defendant’s driving showed “a complete disregard for the safety of others” and that he was “clearly driving over the drink-driving limit”. The defendant had admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
Details of the crash
Lisa Goddard, prosecuting, said that Mr Narvydas, a close friend of Kuneckis, was a passenger in the car as the defendant was “changing lanes, weaving in and out of traffic” on the dual carriageway. The Audi clipped a BMW 320i travelling in the same direction and moments later “lost directional control” and hit a crash barrier, the court heard. Ms Goddard said that the car then hit a Honda Jazz, which was travelling in the other direction and being driven by Mr Hadzhiev. The Audi “then appeared to flip” and collided with a Renault truck cement mixer, while its engine “ejected” and hit a Fiat Doblo, the court heard.
Driver Kelly Bannon said in a witness statement read out in court that she believed the Audi was travelling at “roughly more than 100 mph”. Witness Nasima Shuheb said that she was travelling at 70 mph and that the defendant’s car was going faster than her, the court heard.
Victim impact statements
Mr Hadzhiev’s wife, Nezire, said in a victim impact statement that her husband was “my soulmate, my best friend, the father of my children, my everything”. She said that his death has changed her family’s life “completely”, adding: “His absence is everywhere in every room, in every part of my life.” She added: “I carry a pain that never leaves me, no matter how much I try to keep going.” Mr Narvydas’s brother-in-law Marijus Leliunga said that his death has “destroyed” his family’s life.
Defendant's injuries and remorse
The crash left Kuneckis with bruised eye sockets, an open fracture to the left forearm, fractures to the left side of the pelvis and a degloving injury to the right upper arm, the court heard. Ms Goddard said that a police officer overheard the defendant tell a Royal London Hospital doctor that “he had had two shots four hours before the incident”, but did not specify what they were. Kuneckis’s barrister Warwick Aleeson said that the defendant was previously a “careful and considerate road user”, with no previous convictions. He said that Kuneckis is “consumed with guilt” and “constantly tearful”, adding that he wanted to apologise to the victims’ families “from the bottom of his heart for what he has done”. Kuneckis was banned from driving for 18 years.
