OVER the Easter holidays mum Rhiannon Lucas should be celebrating her daughter Gracie-Ann’s seventh birthday.
Instead, the 27-year-old has been dealt the devastating blow that the man who killed Gracie-Ann when she was just four years old, along with her three-year-old son Jayden Lee, is being moved to an open prison.
Martin Newman has served just two years of his nine-year sentence after ploughing his Ford Transit van into Rhiannon’s red Ford Fiesta on February 5, 2022, killing the two children.
He was more than twice over the drink driving limit after consuming 10 cans of Strongbow cider and vodka.
Dad-of-two Newman, from Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot, had been out with colleagues the night before and also had traces of cocaine in his system.
Rhiannon, from Tredegar, Gwent, and her family were on their way back from a children’s birthday party when they pulled over on the hard shoulder of the M4 in South Wales to allow Gracie-Ann to go to the toilet.
CCTV footage shows Newman swerving across lanes on the motorway from the Prince of Wales bridge before hurtling into the family’s stationary car at 57mph.
Jayden Lee and Gracie Ann both later died in intensive care at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, while Rhiannon suffered life-changing injuries.
Newman pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for nine years - a punishment the family felt was light.
He was also disqualified from driving for 14 years and eight months.
Speaking about the decision to move Newman to Usk open prison in April, Rhiannon says: "There are no words for how angry I feel at hearing this news.
"He only got nine years for killing my two children which was an absolute insult. Now I'm hurt all over again knowing he is going to an open prison where things will be much easier for him. How can that be right?
"I'm crippled with grief most of the time but hearing this has just set me back so much. I had come off medication but now I am back on it because of this news.
“It's disgusting - where is the justice for my beautiful children? That man has destroyed our lives.
“I will never hear my children laugh again or see them smile. I have a life sentence of torture and pain."
Van driver Newman had been travelling home from Leicester on the M4 westbound when he veered into the hard shoulder at around 1.45pm.
Prosecutor Roger Griffiths outlined how Newman had "weaved" across the carriageway and been seen straddling lanes and touching rumble strips prior to the collision.
Eye witnesses reported seeing Newman using his phone and driving at high speeds not long before the fatal smash.
His phone was examined and the last phone call ended seven minutes before impact, during which he’d rowed with his ex-partner.
I will never hear my children laugh again or see them smile. I have a life sentence of torture and pain
Rhiannon Lucas
Eyewitness Cara Williams told Cardiff Crown Court during the trial she’d begged her partner to overtake Newman and “get out of that idiot’s way”, adding: “I thought the driver was either drunk or on the phone and definitely not paying attention.”
Fellow driver Rachel Paparakis, who saw the crash happen, described how Newman’s van slammed into Rhiannon’s car at speed.
“She did not see any brake lights come on or a change in direction of travel at all,” prosecutor Mr Griffiths explained.
“There was an almighty bang and she pulled over to the hard shoulder. There was debris everywhere, the van had spun round, and the red car was in lane one."
When police arrived on the scene Newman was reportedly upset and crying and there was blood on his hands. The officer could smell alcohol on him.
He failed the breathalyser procedure and was arrested for causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink-driving.
Newman was reportedly slurring his words and tried to claim he was driving in a straight line when something “clipped” him.
If you cause a death while driving under the influence of alcohol, you face a jail term of up to 14 years.
Just being caught over the limit can land you a driving ban, a £2,500 fine and even a short prison term.
The actual penalty you get is up to the magistrates who hear your case and depends on your offence.
Here are the maximum penalties handed out to drink drivers:
The court was told he then said: “I just want to die but that’s the coward's way out.”
He was taken to the Grange Hospital where he said “I want to f*****g die,” adding: “I’ve done some f*****g s**t in my life but today I crossed a line.”
Data retrieved from Newman’s van revealed the brakes had been applied 2.5 seconds before impact.
Both children suffered catastrophic brain injuries, while their mother was left with multiple liver lacerations, rib fractures and lung bruises, and spent a week in hospital.
I’ve done some f*****g s**t in my life but today I crossed a line
Martin Newman
Following the trial Rhiannon’s partner Adam Saunders, the children's stepfather who was driving the car, said he blamed himself for pulling over to let Gracie Ann to go to the toilet that day.
He said: "They have left us without a purpose in life. We're trying to function but we know it can never be the same."
Judge Daniel Williams acknowledged Newman’s offence was the “most serious level of dangerous driving” but said he was unable to impose a higher sentence than the law allowed.
The law dictates he will only be expected to serve half the term in custody.
Newman’s sentence was also reduced by a third because he entered a guilty plea at the first available opportunity.
Following the sentencing, the children's family expressed their anger and said they would appeal for harsher punishment that reflected the loss of the two young children.
Rhiannon says: "Martin Newman has never said sorry for what he did, not once.
“The legal justice system protects the criminals, not the victims.
"Because of him I spent Mother's Day at the cemetery putting flowers on my dead children's graves.
“They should be running around playing and I should be reading them bedtime stories. But now that will never happen because of his selfish actions.
The legal justice system protects the criminals, not the victims. Because of [Newman] I spent Mother's Day at the cemetery putting flowers on my dead children's graves
Rhiannon Lucas
"The last few years have been so, so hard. After I lost both my children I had to come home to a silent house filled with their toys and games - but they were gone. It was unimaginable.”
Rhiannon wrote to the Probation Service about Newman being moved to an open prison, and was urged to speak to her victim liaison officer.
She claims she was told it's likely he will be able to stay at a family member's house once a week.
Gracie-Ann would have turned seven on April 10, while Jayden Lee's birthday is on May 6.
Rhiannon and Adam welcomed another daughter, Summer-Gracie, last year. She is now almost one, and Rhiannon dreads the day she’ll have to tell her little girl about her siblings, and how they died so tragically.
“Summer-Gracie will only ever know them from photographs and it breaks my heart she will never meet them," Rhiannon says.
"It's Gracie-Ann's birthday next month, and Jayden-Lee's in May.
“Instead of having a birthday party with all their friends singing happy birthday to them, I will be taking balloons to the cemetery.
"I know my children will never be forgotten, though. At Gracie-Ann's primary school they keep an empty chair at the table in one of the classes and say, ‘This is Gracie-Ann's chair'.
“No one sits on it. It's really touching and heartbreaking at the same time.
"It seems so unfair that Martin Newman’s life is going to get easier, while our sentence will last till the day I die.”
LAST year Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, President of the British Medical Association (BMA), urged the Government to significantly tighten the rules around drunk driving.
The union is effectively calling for a total ban, with nobody who has consumed even a single alcoholic drink allowed to get behind the wheel.
This is because, they argue, there is no safe way to work out how much you can drink before going over the limit.
Sir Ian blamed stronger drinks and larger servings in pubs for the uncertainty, saying it puts lives at risk.
Given that there are around 260 drunk driving-related deaths annually in the UK, according to official figures, Sir Ian suggested that nobody who has touched a drop should be able to operate a vehicle.
The drink drive limit differs in the UK depending on which country you're in.
There's one rule for motorists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and another rule for drivers in Scotland.
The limits for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are:
In Scotland, the limits are:
The Scottish rules mean that just one drink could put you over the limit.
At their conference last summer, the BMA passed a motion resolving to ask the Government to reduce the legal limit to 50mg per 100ml of blood.
This would bring the UK in line with the majority of EU nations, as well as Scotland, Australia and New Zealand.
This could, according to Sir Ian, be done with a view towards reducing it further to 20mg per 100ml of blood, which he says is "virtually zero" but would allow for someone having had a bit of mouthwash.
He also warned drivers not to be indifferent towards the risks of drunk driving, saying: "It’s fine to think ‘I’ll get away with it, I’ve got a 99% chance of getting away with it’.
"If you’re the 1% you could end up in prison and it would ruin your life and it would ruin the life of all the people around that victim."
Bear in mind that even if you're below the limit, having just one drink can still impair your driving skills.
In fact, with just 10mg of alcohol per 100ml of your blood (one-eighth of the limit in England and Wales), you are 37% more likely to be in a fatal accident than when completely sober.
Even if you think you can handle your drink, it is best to avoid driving after having any alcohol.
