Submariner jailed for killing two women in a car crash
A Royal Navy submariner who killed two women when he deliberately drove his car at speed into the middle of a Cheshire road has been jailed for 10 years.
Benjamin Lewis, 31, of, Neston, Wirral, was driving his blue BMW in convoy with his partner on the A5117 near Dunkirk on the Wirral, around 9.20pm on 25 November 2021 when the crash happened.
He was overtaking another car on the single-track road when he collided with a a silver Citroen car, coming the other way, being driven by Ellie Crossley, 20. Her long-time friend Rebecca Doughty, also 20,was a passenger in the car at the time.
Lewis had driven his car into the opposite lane and was heading straight towards them when the crash happened. There were two solid white lines in the middle of the road, indicating that drivers in neither direction should overtake.
Both Ellie and Rebecca were seriously injured in the crash and died shortly afterwards.
Two of their other friends were in a car in front of them at the time of the accident and called the police.
They had been on a shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks retail park and were making their way home.
Witnesses reported seeing Lewis driving at excessive speeds in the lead up to the crash. It had been raining and the roads were wet and it was dark. Lewis was said to lose control of his car when it became clear that he was going to crash into the oncoming vehicle.
Lewis was arrested on 23 December and questioned. He said his memory was hazy of the event but denied he had been speeding. He admitted the road conditions had not been good. His car had also been found to have a worn rear tyre.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing at Chester Crown Court on 3 October 2023 and on 8 May 2024 at Chester Crown Court he was jailed for ten years.
Relatives and friends of both victims read out moving Victim Personal Statements at the sentencing hearing. They described the crushing effect of the loss of the two young women on their lives and how they were struggling to cope.
They told the court how they had longed to see them marry and have children and live their lives to the full.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Luke Unsworth of CPS Mersey Cheshire said: “This case concerns the tragic and needless loss of two young lives. Ellie Crossley and Rebecca Doughty were both 20 years old and at the threshold of adult life when they were killed.
“The sole cause of their deaths was the dangerous driving of Benjamin Lewis. He was driving at speeds of over 90mph in the lead up to the crash and made a deliberate but unnecessary decision to overtake another car on a road where this manoeuvre was forbidden.
“We may never know what was going through his mind at the time, but his actions have caused devastation.
"The families and friends of these two young women are left trying to piece together their shattered lives and Benjamin Lewis, who had been serving his country as a submariner, is now behind bars. A dreadful case.”