10:25pm Friday 9th May 2008
By John Davies
A 26-year-old driver who was involved in a fatal race which ended with the deaths of three teenage girls has been jailed for ten years.
Heckmondwike youngster Ursula Alokolaro, 16, and her two friends 16-year-old Natalie Donlan, of Dewsbury, and Gemma Cost, 15, of Batley, all died when the Ford Fiesta they were travelling in smashed head-on into a flat-back lorry near Huddersfield in September 2006.
Fiesta driver 27-year-old James Houston was so severely injured in the crash on Wakefield Road that he was unfit to stand trial, but Adam Anguige, who was racing him in a Vauxhall Nova that night, was convicted earlier this year of causing the girls' deaths by dangerous driving.
Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday that Anguige, of White Lee Road, Batley, still maintained his innocence, but Judge Christopher Prince dismissed submissions by his barrister that his client may have become 'a sacrificial lamb'' because of Houston's medical condition.
"No sentence your honour passes can satisfy or can hope to satisfy the relatives of the deceased,'' said Peter Joyce QC. "But there has to be a balance drawn and the balance with respect has to have regard to this fact. The real, most serious villain of this piece, from whose car those girls were taken dead, is effectively to a very great extent going to escape. Whereas Adam Anguige is going to pay in full.'' Mr Joyce said references and reports submitted on behalf of Anguige indicated he was a hard-working man who had a particularly close and caring relationship with his widowed mother.
He submitted that his client had "lost his cool'' because of the behaviour of Houston in the other car and had acted utterly out of character.
Houston, of Croft Cottage Lane, Huddersfield, was also found to have been responsible for causing the girls' deaths by dangerous driving at a special hearing before a separate jury, but his sentence was yesterday adjourned until July 4 so he can undergo a hospital assessment.
Judge Prince told Anguige he had taken up the gauntlet thrown down by Houston that night and both cars were driving at excessive speed as they tried to overtake a Range Rover at the same time on a sweeping left-hand bend.
"You did not know Houston. You did not know the persons in that car, however you took up that gauntlet. Be it V-signs, be it insults, be it swearing, be it a beer can that was thrown at your car that illicited the very reaction that probably Houston was trying to illicit. This was fast, dangerous, aggressive and competitive driving which had begun at the roundabout 0.7 miles further back down the road and continued to the point of impact,'' said Judge Prince.
The court heard that the lorry driver and a male front seat passenger in Houston's Fiesta were also badly injured in the crash.
Anguige, whose only previous offence was a fixed penalty for speeding, drove away from the scene for a short time and when he returned he failed to tell police his girlfriend had been in the car with him.
Judge Prince said whether Anguige's motive had been to protect himself or others it had been a concerted effort to deprive the police of potential evidence in their investigation.
"You have been described in mitigation as a sacrificial lamb. I don't accept that description of you,'' said Judge Prince.
"No sentence that I have the power to pass can ever reflect sufficiently the tragic loss suffered by the parents and families of those young ladies who themselves lost their lives and had so much to offer the world. The loss that you caused the families is permanent and immeasurable. Your punishment will be temporary and measurable, but it will be measured in years.'' Anguige was banned from driving for ten years and must take an extended driving test before he drives lawfully again.
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