A callous drink driver who abandoned his passengers to die after crashing has been jailed.
Jordan Lawrence, 25, fled from a remote country road after a man and a teenage girl were thrown from his car.
Estate worker Lawrence left 37-year-old father-of-three Jonathan Graham and Jasmine Herron, 19, on the shore of Loch Caolisport in Argyll and Bute while he made his way home.
Their dead bodies were found the following morning by another staff member from the Ormsary Estate, where Mr Graham was head gamekeeper.
Lawrence had been drinking shots of whisky, vodka and gin at a party following a pheasant shoot before crashing on the single track B8024 near Ormsary, in Knapdale, when his car hit a boulder.
Estate worker Lawrence left Jasmine Herron, 19, (pictured) on the shore of Loch Caolisport in Argyll and Bute while he made his way home
The body of father-of-three 37-year-old Jonathan Graham was found with Ms Herron the following morning by another staff member from the Ormsary Estate
Lawrence had been drinking shots of whisky, vodka and gin at a party following a pheasant shoot before crashing on the single track B8024 (pictured) near Ormsary, in Knapdale, when his car hit a boulder
Witnesses said he appeared to be driving very fast. Referring to his car, one said: ‘It just zoomed past.’
Lawrence had denied causing the deaths by driving dangerously on January 25 and 26 in 2020 but was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Remanding him in jail ahead of sentencing, judge Lord Beckett told the first offender: ‘You have been found guilty of a very serious charge in circumstances which are plainly tragic for all concerned.’
He also acknowledged that the trial had been difficult for jurors as it involved ‘a deeply tragic event’ which had a huge impact on a small community.
Lawrence, of Newmilns, in Ayrshire, was found to have driven while unfit through the consumption of alcohol, at excessive speed and failing to maintain observations.
He was also convicted of failing to report the accident.
Advocate depute Graeme Jessop suggested that Lawrence had fled to ‘avoid detection by the authorities until such time as he sobered up’.
Gamekeeper James Reid, 40, who found the bodies, told the court he initially feared Lawrence could also be lying dead somewhere as he knew the three had been together in the car.
In a statement released through her solicitors, Mr Graham’s wife Anna, 34, said: ‘No legal outcome will every replace Jonny or address the pain and loss we’ve suffered.’
