Driver Jailed for Fatal Crash While High on Cocaine
A 45-year-old pick-up truck driver has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for causing the death of a moped rider while under the influence of cocaine.
Darren Silvester was found to be 10 times over the legal limit for cocaine when he collided with Damien Walton, a 33-year-old father-to-be, on a quiet residential road in Southampton just before Christmas 2023.
Walton was riding his Lexmoto Diablo moped to work when Silvester, who had consumed cocaine the night before, pulled out of a petrol station in his Ford Ranger pick-up truck and smashed into him.
The court heard that Silvester had 480 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine, a metabolized form of cocaine, in his blood – almost ten times the legal limit of 50 microgrammes.
Silvester was sentenced to 32 months at Southampton Crown Court and banned from driving for five years after admitting to causing death by driving without due care and attention while over the specified limit for benzoylecgonine.
In victim impact statements, Walton’s family described the devastating effect of his death. His partner, Machila Marshall, revealed she had discovered she was pregnant with his child just days after his death, but later suffered a miscarriage due to the grief and stress.
Marshall told the court, ‘Losing him is the hardest thing I have had to come to terms with. It has left an unimaginable hole in my heart.’
Walton’s mother, Nicola Marshman, also read a statement, saying, ‘He was my little rascal, always up to mischief, but everyone loved him.’ She described how Walton had recently moved in with Marshall and was using his newly purchased moped to commute to work, appearing happier than he had in a long time.
Mitigating, Andrew Houston stated that Silvester had not used cocaine for at least 12 hours before the incident and expressed ‘utter remorse’ on behalf of his client.
Judge Christopher Parker KC told Silvester, ‘You took on a risk you shouldn’t have taken. It is arguable you might not have taken that risk but for the reason you had cocaine in your system.’
Police Sergeant Jonathan Dove emphasized that there is ‘never any excuse for getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated by drink or drugs,’ and that Silvester’s actions had ‘devastated a family by causing the death of a well-loved man.’
