Hi °C | Lo °C A former Championship footballer was jailed for seven years and four months after he admitted killing two young brothers while driving dangerously at twice the legal alcohol limit.
Luke McCormick, who played in goal for Plymouth Argyle at the time, was "driving like an idiot" at about 90mph on the M6 in Staffordshire as he returned drunk from a teammate's wedding, a court was told.
McCormick killed Arron Peak, 10, and his brother Ben, eight, on 7 June when he drove his Range Rover into their family's car. Yesterday, the footballer, 25, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. The judge, Paul Glenn, jailed the former England youth international and banned him from driving for four years. The boys' parents, Amanda and Phil Peak, wept as details of the accident were read out.
McCormick was returning from a wedding in Bolton to confront his fiancée in Coventry after reading rumours on the internet networking site Facebook that she had cheated on him, Stoke Crown Court was told. He drove off from his hotel at 4am, having drunk alcohol until well after midnight and sleeping for only two hours.
During the journey he was phoned by his team's physiotherapist, who warned him of the dangers of drink-driving and pleaded with him to pull over. McCormick ignored the advice. After crashing into the Toyota people-carrier at 5.45am, he told witnesses: "I am so sorry, I'm sorry. I just fell asleep. I fell asleep, I'm sorry."
The brothers, from Partington in Manchester, were killed during a day out with their father. Mr Peak, 37, who was driving them and three friends to Silverstone race track, broke his back and neck. The other passengers, a 49-year-old man and his sons, aged eight and 15, received only minor injuries.
A victim statement read to the court said the Peaks were "totally devastated" by their sons' deaths. "All our hopes and dreams for the future have been taken away from us," the couple wrote.
