Soldier jailed for killing two teen athletes while drunk and speeding
A soldier caught over the alcohol limit and speeding has been locked up for fatally hitting two teenage athletes. Michael Casey, 24, pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of 16-year-old Stacey Burrows and 17-year-old Lucy Pygott by dangerous driving.
Tragic crash on training run
The tragic crash happened on the evening of 8 November in Aldershot, Hampshire. Stacey and Lucy were out training along Queen’s Avenue when Casey’s black Ford Focus sped through a 30mph zone at 40mph and struck them. Casey claimed he was distracted by a colleague who had vomited in the car just moments earlier.
Distracted and drunk at the wheel
At Winchester Crown Court, Casey admitted he had been looking at the vomit inside the vehicle before glancing up and “feeling” the collision near a red traffic light. A friend with the girls shouted at them to run, but it was too late.
Athletes remembered
Lucy, from Hartley Wintney, had recently won a 3,000m bronze at the European Youth Championships and was called “an absolute joy” by her family. Stacey, from Farnborough, was the Hampshire under-17 3,000m champion and described as “perfect in every possible way.”
Casey was sentenced to six years behind bars and banned from driving for 10 years.
