Terrified passenger says ‘I’m going to die’ moments before ‘arrogant’ drunk driver kills young mum

A “cowardly” driver who killed a young mother and left her at the scene of a crash has been jailed.

Sharna Brook Burgin, 23, was fatally injured in the crash by 25-year-old Leon Roberts on February 26 last year. Sheffield Crown Court heard on Friday that Roberts was driving Sharna and three other passengers into Sheffield after giving them a lift when he hit a taxi which was at a rank on the A57 Sheffield Parkway.

Prosecutor Ben Campbell said Roberts, of Ballifield Close, Sheffield, fled the scene and handed himself in to police 16 hours later, where tests found he had traces of cocaine, cannabis and alcohol in his system.

Read more: Police are releasing a major update as the man hit by a car in Moldgreen fights for his life

The footage was played in court as Mr Campbell told how Roberts assured his passengers he “hadn’t had anything to drink” when they suggested he take a taxi. He said: “There was loud music playing in the vehicle. When he was driving in the passing lane, from the outside, his driving was described as 80 mph to 90 mph and a passenger told him to slow down and he said nothing in response.”

Campbell said one of the passengers recalled that when the Mercedes they were in joined Sheffield Parkway, “the music went up” and both she and Sharna were “screaming at him to slow down”. The prosecutor added: “She described him as dashing and her impression was that they were traveling at around 100mph. She recorded some of the videos.”

One of the passengers was said to have said, “I’m going to die” while Roberts was driving. The court heard Roberts was seen fleeing the scene while his passengers were taken to safety before the car burst into flames.

A witness remembered the accident happening but did not know how it happened. Mr Campbell said: “A woman was driving in the same direction as Mr Roberts but in front of him. She noticed in her rearview mirror some lights that seemed to be spinning.

“She slowed down to follow him, fearing he was going to hit her, and she could see he had collided with a taxi. Her impression was that the vehicle entered the central reservation before returning to both lanes and hitting the taxi.”

The taxi driver was said to have parked at the station before the collision after noticing noises coming from his vehicle. Mr Campbell said another witness traveling in the opposite direction thought “wow, it flies” before seeing Roberts’ car collide with the taxi. He said the car was traveling at a speed of about 100 km/h.

The court heard the taxi driver was taken to hospital and the passenger in Roberts’ car had to have surgery on his leg after suffering leg injuries as well as a scalp hematoma. Sharna was taken to intensive care, where she was found to have died of brain stem and “devastating brain injury” as well as a haemorrhage, skull fractures, rib and spine fractures and a lacerated liver. She died at the hospital.

Get all the latest and breaking South Yorkshire court news straight to your inbox Sign up for our newsletter here.

The other female passenger suffered tissue damage to her head, as well as cuts and scrapes to her right shoulder and hip. It was said in his interview with police on February 27 last year, Roberts said he “went to overtake a car on his left and continued to accelerate and thought he had gone too far to his right and swung to the other side” .

Mr Campbell said: “He said he didn’t remember until he woke up in a wooded area. He said he hadn’t intended to go any faster and had picked up the Mercedes garage as his car had skidded a few times and thought it needed new tyres. but he had been calmed by them”.

Roberts pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. In a victim personal statement given to the court, Sharna’s mother described “every morning waking up back to a nightmare of what happened”.

Mr Campbell said she said the events of that night would “haunt her forever”, adding: “She describes waking up to her phone ringing and a police officer’s voice. She describes feeling robbed of a future with her daughter. She won’t have time with her daughter. her daughter.

“She describes coming home to a quiet, empty house that Sharna used to fill with love and laughter.”

The court heard Sharna’s daughter cried before going to bed and her mother “does everything she can to comfort her but she fears there is no love like a mother’s love”.

Mitigating, Ian Goldsack told the court that a number of references and a letter written by Roberts had been handed to the court. He said: “All too often these cases involve people who may never have come before the courts.

“There are tragic consequences all around and everyone who is touched by what happened in just a few moments in the early hours of that morning – will be with them forever.

“That involves Leon Roberts, who I think encapsulated that in the letter he wrote himself. He’s struggling to come to terms with what happened. The events he still remembers.”

The court heard that father-of-one Roberts did not come out because his partner was expecting their child and was saving money for the future. Mr Goldsack said he was licensed and employed to drive. Roberts was said to have no previous convictions on his record.

Sheffield judge Jeremy Richardson KC jailed Roberts for nine years and six months and told him: “Any person who drives a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both and then kills another human being as a result of dangerous driving must wait and will receive a severe punishment.

“This case is aggravated by the fact that you seriously injured another person in the incident.”

Judge Richardson said Roberts had “devastated” Sharna’s family and told her: “You caused this devastation through your arrogance and eagerness to show off to your friends by driving way too fast and losing control of a high powered Mercedes car …

“You were driving at about 100 km/h on a road where the speed limit was 50 km/h… You were not only arrogant and showing off, you were also a coward. You fled the scene, leaving your friends to their fate and badly injured. and the other on his way to death.

“What you did? You pulled away and surrendered many hours later when the effects of the alcohol wore off. What a cowardly thing to do. Never mind the totally awful driving.

“Your conduct can only be described as despicable…You looked insane. There was evidence that you were actually increasing your speed. It was clear that you were driving exceptionally dangerously. You lost control of that car because of your speed and drunkenness. .”

Roberts was also disqualified from driving.