Fly-and-drink-drivers targeted as family faces Christmas without baby and aunt killed in A1 crash

Reporter Katie Cole met some the police officers who attended the scene of a crash which killed an eight-month old baby and his aunt, caused by a drink driver leaving Newcastle Airport

Police officers who were first at the scene of a horror crash which killed a baby and his aunt say their deaths are "personal" as they target drivers who drink and fly then drive.

Eight-month-old Zackary Blades died in the crash on the A1 at Chester-le-Street, in County Durham, in the early hours of 31 May along with his aunt, 30-year-old Karlene Warner.

The pair were being driven from Newcastle Airport by Zackary's mother Shalorna Warner when speeding drink-driver Darryl Anderson, who had been on his phone behind the wheel of his Audi Q5, smashed into them.

Anderson was also heading home, to Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, straight from a flight and at three times the limit.

Prompted by the deaths of Zackary and Karlene, Durham Constabulary have joined up with Northumbria Police to launch a campaign warning people not to be tempted to get behind the wheel if they have had a mid-air drink.

Detective Natalie Horner, from the force's serious collision unit, attended the scene of the crash in May.

She told ITV Tyne Tees: "We see it all the time but this year it just felt different - the loss of Zackary and Karlene in such horrific circumstances.

"They've never been the same and they're never going to be the same again and they're suffering every day. For that reason alone I will continue and the team I work with - we will continue to do more to stop it from happening to someone else."

Detective Horner said the deaths of baby Zackary and Karlene, from County Durham, had been "personal" and in the wake of the crash the force was left thinking about what more could be done to prevent further fatalities.

Targeting drivers at Newcastle Airport on Thursday (19 December) as part of Operation Takeoff was "for them and the greater public".

She continued: "I don't want anyone else killed in a road death. I've had to knock on too many doors. I've had to take people to far too many mortuaries to see their loved ones. It's them people we're doing it for today."

Inspector Simon Hogg was one of the first officers at the roadside in the aftermath of the A1 collision, which is understood to have left 100 officers requiring trauma counselling.

Speaking to ITV Tyne Tees, Insp Hogg described how he and his "colleagues had blood on their hands at the scene and were deeply affected" by what they encountered.

"It has a huge effect," he said. "I don't have a problem admitting I was upset and spoke to my wife about it when I got home. It was horrific, just horrific.

"But that was nothing compared to what the family have gone through. That's what made us think that's an issue we really need to highlight. Because that driver had just stepped off the plane and was three times the limit."

The force will target drivers at both Newcastle Airport and Teesside Airport as part of the campaign, which is hoped will be rolled out across the country.

By raising more awareness of the issue, it is hoped the act of flying, drinking and driving will become "socially unacceptable".

Insp Hogg added: "It's probably more common than we realise where people have a few drinks at the airport and then get on the plane, potentially forgetting that they're going to have to drive when they get to the other side.

"Well me and my team have seen first hand the devastating consequences of that when a drink driver destroys a family and we just thought that needed highlighting.

"That's the purpose of this campaign - to raise awareness of that and make it as equally socially unacceptable as drink-driving."

Out of 80 people breathalysed at the airport today, all drivers tested negative for being over the drink-drive limit. Two of them had alcohol in their system but were below the legal limit.

They were given advice and a warning about how long alcohol can stay in the body.

Darryl Anderson was jailed for more than 17 years for causing death by dangerous driving.

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