Drugged Driver Steve Agar Jailed for Fatal Droxford Collision
A drug-driver has been jailed for three and a half years after his careless driving caused the death of a woman in Droxford. Steven Agar, 37, of Harris Road, Gosport, pleaded guilty to causing death by driving without due care or consideration whilst over the specified limit of a controlled drug at Portsmouth Crown Court. The court heard how Agar was driving his Audi A4 along the A32 Wickham Road, at 5pm on August 23. The prosecution told how Agar had already completed one overtake when he attempted to do a second as he approached a bend in the road. As he did this, he narrowly avoided a head-on collision with one car but he lost control of his car, crossed the carriageway and collided with a Mazda. Gena Close, 56, was a backseat passenger in the Mazda and died as a result of her injuries at Southampton General Hospital. The Mazda driver, a 77-year-old man, and front seat passenger, a 57-year-old woman, were also injured and taken to hospital. Agar was uninjured. The court heard how witnesses had reported that Agar’s Audi had been travelling “way too fast” and in a “stupid and dangerous” way. Tests later revealed that Agar had 2.3micrograms of THC (cannabis) in his system. The legal limit is two micrograms. Today he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison and disqualified for five years. The judge told Agar that the cannabis he had taken played a “critical role” in what happened that day. Road safety officer PC Dave Mitchell, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “There was no need for Agar to overtake those vehicles that day, he was simply being impatient and that has resulted in the death of Gena Close, leaving her loved ones devastated. “Agar not only drove carelessly, he did so after taking cannabis, ignoring all the warnings. “Cannabis can severely impact someone’s ability to drive, such as distorting the driver’s perception of space and time. “In this case Agar attempted to overtake as he approached a bend, where there was insufficient space and time to do so safely. “Had Agar decided not to take cannabis prior to driving, and had he not made a reckless overtake, then this collision and its tragic consequences would not have happened.”
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