Oliver Hartley, 24, was driving his mother’s Audi A7 when the car veered onto the wrong side of the A6055 near Catterick Village and smashed head-on into a Kia Ceed driven by Tunstall grandmother Linda Stockdale, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor David Outterside said that Hartley wasn’t insured to drive the powerful vehicle and his mother had no idea he had taken her car for a drive in the early hours of the morning, when he was at least twice the drink drive limit.
He said that Hartley had initially driven from his then home in Harrogate to buy a McDonald’s meal in Knaresborough, but then decided to extend his drive by driving “up and down” the A1(M) motorway.
He said that Hartley turned onto the A6055 at Leeming Bar but then “got lost” and ended up driving back on the southbound carriageway of the ‘A road, where the fatal collision occurred at about 2.15am on August 1, 2021.
Hartley was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving and while uninsured. He denied these allegations but ultimately admitted an alternative charge of causing death by careless driving following a protracted court case.
The two allegations he denied were left on the court’s file.
He admitted drink driving as part of the same incident when he appeared before magistrates in February 2022 when he received a 20-month driving ban and was fined £250.
At that stage, due to lack of expert collision reports, he wasn’t charged with causing the death of Mrs Stockdale. He subsequently admitted that offence after the delayed expert reviews were concluded.
He appeared for sentence on that substantive charge at the Crown Court today.
Mr Outterside said that in the hours leading up to the horror crash, Mrs Stockdale had been babysitting her grandchildren for her son and daughter-in-law who were at a wedding.
She was said to be “in high spirits” when she left for home in the early hours of the morning and took the A6055, her usual route to work as a special-needs teacher.
She was described an experienced, careful driver who often used that route to drive special needs children on a minibus.
At 2.18am, five minutes after the fatal crash, police were called to the scene by a taxi driver who witnessed the aftermath of the crash near Marne Barracks and went to Mrs Stockdale’s aid.
Hartley was arrested at the scene and told them: “I’m going to prison.”
He said he couldn’t remember the crash and that he had been on his way home to Harrogate after stopping at McDonald’s at the St James Retail Park in Knaresborough. He told officers he had been drinking alcohol “a couple of hours earlier”.
A roadside breath test revealed he was twice the legal drink drink limit.
Mr Outterside said that the stretch of road where the accident occurred was a 60mph limit, but Hartley was driving at speeds of more than 100mph in the moments before the crash, in wet conditions which caused shallow puddles to form on the road.
Hartley had been travelling south on the A6055 and Mrs Stockdale was travelling on the northbound carriageway when the collision occurred.
Mr Outterside said that collision expert reports concluded that the accident must have been caused by the Audi drifting into the opposite carriageway into the path of the oncoming Kia driven by Mrs Stockdale.
An expert said the Audi’s drifting onto the opposite side of the road could be explained by the driver’s “intoxication”, the speed at which it was being driven and the fact that Hartley was “lost”.
Mr Outterside said that Hartley bought a McDonald’s meal in Knaresborough at just after 1am and then drove down the A1(M) while drunk.
A back calculation of his intoxication levels at the time of the crash was estimated to be 161mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.
Another expert analysed the Audi’s movements via Hartley’s iPhone which showed that he had travelled more than 18 miles up the A1(M) all the way to Catterick, then turned round and went back down the motorway in a southerly direction, then left the motorway at Leeming Bar and stopped briefly at the local service station.
He then drove back up the A1(M) in a northerly direction past Catterick, turned onto the A66, then, about eight minutes before the crash and clearly lost, “took the reverse journey” and headed south again.
Mr Outterside said that during these journeys “up and down the A1(M)”, the Audi’s average speed was about 90mph.
Just a few minutes before the crash, Hartley found himself back near the Leeming Bar service station, turning round on a roundabout and rejoining the A1(M) at the Catterick junction – where he had been 27 minutes earlier.
“Instead of heading back down the A1(M), he headed south on the A6055, travelling towards (Mrs Stockdale’s car) coming the other way,” added Mr Outterside.
He said that collision experts had shown that in the final two-minute period before the crash, there had been “rapid acceleration” by the Audi which was travelling at more than 80mph. It then slowed down and stopped about a minute before the collision, then set off again, accelerating to speeds of up to 102mph.
At the point of collision, it had slowed down but was still doing “at least” 72 mph.
In police interview following his arrest, Hartley told officers he had met a friend for drinks in York at about 2pm the previous day when he drank a glass of wine and a gin andtonic. He then returned home to Harrogate where he met other friends at about 9pm and drank two cocktails and three shots.
A toxicology expert debunked this, asserting that Hartley must have drunk more given his levels of intoxication.
Hartley told officers he had walked home from the Harrogate drinking session at about midnight and felt hungry, so he “took the Audi for a drive to McDonald’s in Knaresborough” even though his mother hadn’t given him permission to drive it.
“He said he got lost on the A1(M) and (that) he had never driven the car on public roads before,” added Mr Outterside.
Hartley said he was using a satnav for directions and “then saw two headlights coming towards him”. The last thing he recalled was “the air bags activating”.
Defence barrister Richard Wright KC said that Hartley, now of Stanmore Place, Burley, near Leeds, had no previous convictions and was genuinely remorseful for his actions.
He had worked all his life but had been sacked from his job after pleading guilty to the offences.
Judge Simon Hickey said he had to balance Hartley’s shocking behaviour on the day in question with character references that showed he was otherwise “a young man of exemplary character” who had no previous driving transgressions to his name.
He told Hartley: “Why you were on the road was presumably for your own enjoyment and you were driving up and down the roads in that high-powered motor car.”
Hartley received a 12-month jail sentence but will likely serve less than half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.
He was given a new one-year driving ban and ordered to take an extended re-test before he was allowed back on the roads.
Speaking after today’s sentence, Linda’s family told Richmondshire Today: “We are so heartbroken and completely devastated with the sentence and feel that mum has been greatly let down by the police and justice system.”
The sentencing has also been criticised on social media with members of the public describing it as “joke” and “an insult to the family”.
DC Laura Cleary, of North Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Investigation Team, said: “Linda’s death has brought immeasurable heartache to her family, and our thoughts remain with them.
“They have shown remarkable strength and dignity while awaiting the conclusion of this long-running case. I hope they find some comfort in the outcome at court, but nothing can make up for what happened to Linda.”
She added: “Hartley showed an appalling lack of concern for the safety of others.
“He got behind the wheel of his mother’s car when he did not have permission, was uninsured, intoxicated, and driving at excessive speed. He now has to face the consequences of his dreadful actions.”
Family’s victim personal statements read out at court
Linda’s son, Philip Stockdale
“Linda Stockdale, my mum, was such a kind, thoughtful, caring, and beautiful person. Her loss has been devastating for so many, not only family but many lifelong friends, colleagues, and neighbours.
It has been extremely difficult for me to put into words the impact of losing my mum as I simply don’t think I can do her justice.
She was such a special lady who had a positive impact on so many people’s lives. She cared for everyone in our family from the youngest, my six-month old son, right to Chris’ (Linda’s partner) mum in her 90’s.
Not only that she supported so many children over her 35+ year career in childcare. Some of these children perhaps had a difficult start in life or had additional needs, but she made such an impression that some felt the need to attend her funeral 30 or more years after they left her care.
I’m so proud of her and what she achieved and incredibly lucky to call her my mum.
Since the accident any special moment in our lives, my son’s first steps, his first words, my daughter learning to ride a bike, my 40th birthday, have all been tainted by the fact she didn’t get to see them.
Instead of them being proud happy times, I’m left thinking I wish she could see this or worse, the split second when I think I can’t wait to tell her about this. But I can’t.
This may be my victim statement, and although it hurts every single day, I will carry on because that’s exactly what she would have wanted me to do.
The real victims here though are the ones that can’t speak here in court today.
My mum who worked so hard her whole life and was only four days from retiring, only the have that retirement and all her plans stolen.
And her grandchildren who have had such a special person taken away from them.
Grandma days were the highlight of their week packed with activities, adventures and treats.
The pain and heartache this has caused to them is immeasurable and we will probably never truly understand the damage it did to them, but I do know I have spent many late nights with a three-year-old little girl who’s already been awake for 16 hours too scared to go to sleep in case her mummy and daddy disappear in the night like her grandma did. I’m still doing it now four years on.”
Linda’s daughter, Lisa Roper
“It’s impossibly hard to even try to describe the devastating feeling of losing a parent to anyone who hasn’t been through it, never mind the loss of someone as amazing as my mum.
She was an incredible lady, so kind and understanding, so smiley and positive, simply a person everybody loved. She was the heart of our family, the very core that kept us together and she was there for everybody whenever they needed it.
She was an amazing friend and teacher and so many people miss her so dearly.
The sense of loss doesn’t ever leave you, even four years on it is there every day, in everything we do, in every new event everything is spoilt because we can no longer share it with my mum.
Having to have that heartbreaking conversation with my children to explain that their favourite person in the world was gone was devastating. To tell them there would be no more grandma days, no more sleepovers, no more grandma adventures!
They have such wonderful memories with her but have had so many stolen from them, golden time that she could watch them grow into the wonderful young people they are turning out to be. She would have been so proud!
I used to spend hours on the phone with mum just setting the world to rights, my husband was always amazed we had anything left to talk about, but it was all the little things that feel so unimportant to anyone else, but we understood each other as only a mother and daughter could.
My mum would have been 70 this year and I often think about what would have been, what would her retirement look like, probably filled with gardens, friends, walks, baking and most importantly her grandchildren, all taken away from her far too soon.
The last four years have been torture for everyone, no real answers given and the painful constant reminder of the accident being with us all the time.
We feel that this could have been avoided, and we could have been able to move on with our lives, remembering my mum for the happy, bubbly, caring person she was rather than sitting here today over four years later.
This accident has left such a huge gap in our lives that we struggle with every day and will do for the reast of our lives.”
Linda’s partner, Christopher Gall
“Linda and I were together for 25 years. We were besotted with each other, and we did absolutely everything together. Losing Linda has changed my life completely, it turned my whole world upside down.
We had retirement plans that we never got to experience. Linda was due to retire a week after the incident, and we had so many plans. It was our time to enjoy together and that has been stolen away from me and the family.
Linda was an amazing woman. She worked with disabled children and was a phenomenal person who dedicated her life to helping others. She was my whole world. She was thought of so much by our local community that there is a plaque dedicated to her by a tree in the village we lived in. Sheer admiration for the devotion Linda showed to helping others.
When I lost Linda four years ago, I could barely function. I had to take time off work which meant I didn’t get paid which has its knock-on effects in day-to-day life. I struggled with losing her so much that this has caused me so much stress and impacted on my physical health. I have suffered with a blood clot in my eye meaning I needed over 39 appointments and a multitude of injections. This was all caused from the stress and upset of the cruel way we lost Linda. I had counselling for nearly a year to try to come to terms with this and how to come to accept the new reality of a life without her.
Linda was the backbone of the family; we shared a lovely home together for many years however when Linda died, I had to move. It was the family hub where all our families got together and spent many occasions together.
All the memories we shared there, and I had to leave. Linda had children of her own and I felt responsible to ensure they were cared for. By moving I was able to give them some monetary stability which I know Linda would want and I had to rebuild my life without her. How can I do that when she was the pillar of it?
I won’t live half the life I did without Linda. I don’t know what my future holds but I know that every day since Linda losing her life, has stood still for me. Each day has been extremely hard.
I want to say that because of the acts of Mr Hartley, our family have struggled every day since.
I can see the pain in their eyes when we talk. Losing a loved one changes you in ways you could never imagine. People treat you differently, you lose friends because they struggle to know what to say to you. Linda should be with me now enjoying our retirement together, but the reality is that she isn’t. I had a wonderful 25 years with her, but it wasn’t enough. No time would ever be enough.
I no longer sleep properly; I wake in the night in a panic because Linda isn’t there. I worry and then I remember. I live this life I never wanted or ever imagined.
The last four years have been the worst of my life because of the actions Mr Hartley made that night when he had no right to be there. Why was he there?
I lost the woman that loved me and who I loved dearly. We were together all the time, and she was my best friend. Linda was my whole heart and soul.
Four years to get to this point has been torturous and could have been avoided had it not been for the chosen actions of Mr Hartley. You destroyed so many lives that night.
Linda was the best of the best.”
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Any gaol sentence is inappropriate for such a crime. First it costs us taxpayers a LOT of money. And prison is not a deterrence to such behaviour. Far more appropriate would have been a very long driving ban, even a life ban. Let’s hope that at least no insurance company will touch him now,
Can anyone out there support the decision to charge as ‘careless’ driving rather than ‘dangerous’?
Read the catalogue of actions this man took. Careless?
The legal difference is that ‘careless’ is behaviour/actions below the standard you would expect from normal driving behaviour. ‘Dangerous’ is described as falling far below the standard etc.
If you have a few beers & kill someone in a one punch brawl, is it careless? And it could be argued that you wouldn’t expect to kill with one punch. A closing speed of well over 100mph, head-on with a car weighing 2 1/2 tons? Far more likely to kill.
Weak sentence & we wonder why so many drive like maniacs.
Our justice system is now beyond repair . This sentence is a sick joke . This appalling man should be in prison for ten years minimum .
What an absolute joke. He didn’t even get arrested for stealing his mother’s car and then to kill somebody. He’ll be out of prison in the very near future while Linda’s family have been given a life sentence. Disgusting.