Drivers who raced at 95mph jailed after man killed on major Doncaster road

Carl Queen, 34, was struck by Jordan Lill’s Jaguar XF as he tried to cross Wheatley Hall Road in Doncaster on July 30, 2020, after a taxi had just dropped him off near his home.

Lill, whose girlfriend was a passenger, had been travelling in convoy with the Mercedes driven by his former work colleague Christopher Thomas Milsom after they had bumped into each other by chance at a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Despite only Lill’s vehicle striking Mr Queen, both drivers were charged with causing his death by dangerous driving and pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court.

On Tuesday they were each jailed for seven years and six months.

The court heard that Mr Queen had enjoyed a night in a pub with his cousin, but that both were only ‘tipsy’ rather than drunk when they called a taxi.

The cab driver confirmed that neither man was intoxicated during the journey. Mr Queen was struck near a Kwik Fit garage only moments after he had left the vehicle, despite the dual carriageway being well-lit and him wearing light-coloured clothing.

Lill, now 27 and of Wath-upon-Dearne, had been at his partner Tina Simmonds’ home for a barbecue when the couple decided to go to McDonald’s.

Miss Simmonds said that they encountered Milsom in his car behind them in the queue, and Lill got out of the Jaguar to talk to him.

They then parked up together in the car park, where a witness saw Milsom ‘revving’ his engine before both cars left together ‘quite fast’ and performing wheelspins as they exited.

Both cars travelled to an industrial estate where the defendants interacted further before driving back towards Wheatley Hall Road with Lill in the left lane and Milsom, who worked as a mechanic, in the right.

Miss Simmonds confirmed that both drivers were ‘speeding very fast’ and that at one stage she was thrown back in her seat by the force of the acceleration.

She saw Mr Queen, who had crossed one side of the carriageway and had begun to cross the other, when he was around 20ft away and screamed at her boyfriend to stop the car.

Lill braked hard but struck Mr Queen, while Milsom, who had been slightly ahead, drove away without stopping. Lill remained at the scene and tested negative for drugs and alcohol.

A resident who had been in her garden nearby said she saw the cars ‘flying past’ at a speed she estimated at between 70-80mph and believed them to be racing. The collision occurred seconds later.

CCTV footage obtained by South Yorkshire Police tracked the cars along a two-mile stretch of the road, which has a 40mph limit, and confirmed ‘evidence of high speeds and racing’.

When passing the Machine Mart premises, both vehicles reached 95mph. Milsom’s average speed at the impact site was 87-144mph and Lill’s was 30-40mph despite heavy braking having taken place when he passed the camera.

Lill told police that a car beside him had ‘swerved’ and confused him, and gave no comment answers in subsequent interviews. Milsom, 34, of Edenthorpe, initially denied racing but admitted he was aware that he was on the same road as the Jaguar.

A victim impact statement was read out on behalf of the Queen family by Carl’s partner Ellen Johnson, who described him as a ‘much-loved son, father and brother’ who left a young daughter.

She said: “This has obliterated our lives. His mum can no longer sleep at night. His dad no longer recognises the life he once led. A part of all of us died with Carl and our precious memories with him are tainted by how he died.

"Being told your son has gone is every parent’s worst nightmare. Carl should have had so many more years. His daughter will never get the chance to replace her memories with new ones.”

As well as the immediate prison sentences, Judge Peter Kelson also banned both men from driving for a period yet to be determined.