BREAKING NEWS: Killer Doncaster driver sentenced for Boxing Day horror crash

Ricky Hepworth, aged 24, was sentenced to eight years for three counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injuries at Sheffield Crown Court this afternoon.

Hepworth, of Newmarche Drive, Askern, was at the wheel of a Volvo S60 when it ploughed into a group of pedestrians in Sutton Road, Askern on December 26 last year.

Andrew Tomlinson, 48, and his wife Faye Tomlinson, 54, died following the collision, along with Mandy Deere, 54.

Mrs Deere’s husband, John Deere, 57, was left critically ill in hospital and has suffered life changing injuries.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Hepworth was travelling at speeds of between 55-60mph in an 20mph limit as he fatally hit the group of four friends.

Proscector Simon Kealey told the court how moments before the fatal collision a 15-year--old passenger travelling with Hepworth had told him to slow down, but he ignored the request and continued on at speeds of almost three times the speed limit for Sutton Road.

While toxicology reports showed that Hepworth was under the legal limit for alcohol levels, the court was told that the 24-year-old had drunk four Budvar beers and smoked cannabis in the hours leading up to the collision. Further blood tests also found traces of Ecstasy and Cocaine in his system.

The court heard how Hepworth had driven his mother's Volvo S60 car to pick up two friends, despite not having permission from her to use the car, a driving license or insurance.

Following the collision, Hepworth dropped the passengers off and then drove to Askern Lake where he parked the car and threw the keys in the lake.

In the early hours of December 27, he phoned the police to tell them about the collision saying: "I've knocked three people down.

"I think I was travelling at about 45mph. The people [I hit] were running."

Hepworth must serve four years in custody before he is eligible for release. He was also banned from driving for 11 years.

More to follow.