Martin Newman, 41, drank red wine while driving and had cocaine in his system when his Ford Transit van crashed into a family’s Ford Fiesta.
The family were returning from a birthday party when their car was hit by Newman on 5 February.
Newman had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
Three-year-old Jayden Lee Lucas and his sister Gracie Ann, aged four, both died in hospital following the crash, which also left their mother Rhiannon Lucas with serious injuries.
Newman, from Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot, was twice over the drink driving limit and had traces of cocaine in his system when he crashed into the family’s car.
M4 crash driver accused of drink and drug-driving
Following the sentencing, the children’s family expressed anger and said they would appeal for harsher punishment that reflected the loss of the two young children.
Judge Daniel Williams said some would find the sentence “inadequate”, but he said only Parliament could change the law.
The family were travelling from a birthday party to Techniquest in Cardiff and had pulled over onto the hard shoulder in Newport, after Gracie Ann complained of having a bad stomach and needing the toilet, when they were hit by Newman’s van.
Cardiff Crown Court was played CCTV from Traffic Wales cameras showing the van swerving across lanes on the M4, from the Prince of Wales bridge, to the point where he crashed into the red Ford Fiesta, travelling at 57mph.
The children, from Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, were taken to the intensive care unit of University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
Gracie Ann suffered a cardiac arrest due to the severity of her injuries and died the following day. Jayden died on 11 February.
Martin Newman had been taken cocaine and sipped red wine whilst driving
The court heard Newman had been taking cocaine, drunk vodka and 10 cans of cider until 5am on the day of the crash.
Newman told police he had been working in Leicester that week, and had only got two hours sleep the previous night after drinking alcohol and taking cocaine.
The next morning he decided he was too hungover and tired to work and instead chose to drive the three-hour journey back to Bridgend.
He claimed he was not able to remember how he got on to the hard shoulder but said he believed he must have fallen asleep.
At the scene Newman was found crying with blood on his hands and saying he “wished he was dead”.
Investigators found Newman was travelling at 70mph before braking just two seconds before the impact on the M4 between Cardiff and Newport.
Other drivers on the motorway that day said they saw Newman driving haphazardly at speed.
Cara Williams and her partner said they purposefully overtook Newman, who they described as driving like an “idiot”, adding when they passed him they saw he was holding his phone to his right ear.
She said they mouthed at him to “get off the phone”, but he seemed “oblivious”.
‘Most flagrant disregard of the rules’
Newman’s phone was examined and the last phone call ended seven minutes before the crash, during which he had been having an argument with his ex-partner
.
Prosecutor Roger Griffiths added: “The force of the impact had forced the rear seats into the back of the front seats inside the car.”
The judge said: “This was the most serious level of dangerous driving…I am satisfied, the most flagrant disregard of the rules of the road.”
