‘You were drunk but you said it was her fault’ – Sheffield drink driver jailed over 57-year-old’s death

Tina Hartley, 57, from Heath near Chesterfield, was fatally injured by Theodore Mkuhlani, 26, of Gaunt Drive, Sheffield, on August 7 last year after his vehicle smashed into her car as she got out of it.

Tina was paying a surprise visit to her mum on Pitt Street in Kimberworth, Rotherham, with her daughter when the accident happened, both of whom witnessed the aftermath of the collision.

While Tina survived the initial impact before being rushed to hospital, she tragically died the following day from ‘unsurvivable’ injuries including a fractured skull and neck and a bleed on the brain.

Despite the seriousness of the crash, Mkhulani failed to stop immediately, only coming to a halt after he had hit another oncoming car, and was ‘clearly’ intoxicated at the scene, witnesses said.

He later provided a breath sample to the police which showed he was three and a half times over the legal limit.

He had also been seen driving erratically and at speed before the crash and had ignored a friend’s warning not to drive in the state he was in.

Sentencing Mkhulani for causing death by dangerous driving, His Honour Judge Kelson QC, said it was clear he had been intoxicated with ‘substantial’ amounts of alcohol leading to ‘gross impairment’.

He said: “Your behaviour at the scene was nothing short of grotesque in the extreme. You were drunk but you said it had been her fault.”

“The victim’s family now have a life sentence against them. No sentence I pass today can come close to easing their personal pain.”

In addition to the eight year jail term, Mkhulani was also banned from driving for 10 years on release and will have to undergo a compulsory retest.

After sentencing, Abigail Hartley, Tina’s daughter, thanked the police and all Tina’s friends for their support over the last 15 months.

Abigail, who has recently had her first child - a grandchild Tina tragically never got to see - said the costs of drink driving were obvious for all to see.

She said: “This is what happens when you are drunk and get behind the wheel. If anyone sees someone driving like that I just want them to call the police.

“But he has still been driving for a year after this. A few days afterwards he was behind the wheel again. From his whole demeanour at the scene and last time I don’t believe that he is sorry. We have never seen a letter of apology.”

Earlier, victim impact statements were read to the court, including one from Tina’s mother, Valerie Smith.

She said she was full of ‘grief, sorrow and despair’ at the senseless way her ‘beautiful and precious’ daughter was taken from them.

She said: “She bravely battled through cancer only to see her life taken away. I hope and pray the defendant feels remorse for what he has done.”