Today at Guildford Crown Court, Jason Taylor was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for causing the death of Yvonne Wyeth on 28 May 2015.
When Taylor drove directly into the back of Mrs Wyeth, failing to react at all to her presence, he was a little over two and a half times the legal limit and had traces of diazepam and cocaine in his system.
He had a string of precious convictions: 74 offences in all, including eight for drink driving and six for driving while disqualified. At no time in his life had he held a full driving licence.
Referring to the sentencing guidelines, Taylor exhibited two aggravating factors (multiple simultaneous offences, and previous offences) and one mitigating (suffering serious injury). The sentencing range for his level of intoxication is 5-14 years’ imprisonment, meaning that Taylor’s sentence—originally ten and a half years, reduced to seven for his guilty plea—is a little above the middle of the range.
Given Taylor’s record, perhaps more of an issue than the sentence for this offence is the ineffectiveness of previous sentences, resulting in him continuing to be behind the wheel of a vehicle.