Cocaine driver killed brother and nephew in crash

An "accident waiting to happen" drug driver who killed his brother and 12-year-old nephew in a car crash has been jailed for 13 and a half years.

Michael Webb, 35, was travelling at a minimum of 73mph when he tried to undertake another car and lost control, smashing into a lamp-post and tree and ripping the vehicle in two, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Passengers Peter Webb, 40, and Ben Webb, 12, were killed instantly in the crash in South Shields on 30 August 2025.

Webb, of Park Avenue, South Shields, admitted causing their deaths by dangerous driving.

Webb was giving the pair a lift home in his Skoda Octavia after watching a Newcastle United match in a pub, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

He was travelling at excessive speed, which witnesses estimated ranged from 70 to to 90mph, when he tried to undertake a BMW at about 21:00 BST on John Reid Road, the court heard.

Other drivers who saw the build up to the crash said Webb's actions were "crazy dangerous", the court heard.

Peter Webb, who was the front seat passenger, was thrown from the car and suffered catastrophic head injuries which killed him instantly, while his son Ben, who was in the back, had multiple injuries from which he died almost instantaneously, Ms Dowling said.

Both had been wearing seat belts, the court heard.

Webb also had injuries including a fractured wrist and ribs and remained in hospital for five days, the court heard.

In tests conducted two hours after the crash, he was found to have cocaine twice the amount of the driving limit in his system and four times the limit for a byproduct of the Class A drug, the court heard.

A police reconstruction estimated Webb had been doing at least 73mph on the 40mph road, Ms Dowling said.

Ashleigh Webb, Ben's mother and Peter's wife, told the court both she and her husband had previously warned Webb about the danger of his driving.

"You were an accident waiting to happen with no care for the consequences," Mrs Webb told her brother-in-law, adding he seemed to enjoy the power he had over his "helpless" passengers.

She said Webb called himself an uncle and brother but "willingly" put his brother and nephew in danger, and had shown no remorse for killing them.

On the contrary, Webb had posted pictures of himself "happily smiling" and smoking cannabis on social media days before what should have been his nephew's 13th birthday, Mrs Webb said.

She said her son's life was only just beginning and "all his firsts", such as first kiss, first boys' night out, first love and becoming a father, had been "stolen from him".

Mrs Webb said she would never get answers to burning questions, such as whether her husband shouted at his brother to slow down or if her "little boy" had been scared and called for her.

She said Webb's actions had ripped her family apart and no sentence would "ever be long enough for the destruction" his "recklessness" had caused.

Mrs Webb said he should get the maximum sentence possible to "show Ben and Peter the love, respect, justice and dignity they deserve".

Judge Tim Gittins said Webb should have been "nowhere near the driving seat of any vehicle" that night, let alone one with two passengers.

He said Webb was "driving to show off" and the harm caused by his "arrogant and dangerous driving" was "beyond calculation".

There was no suggestion either victim knew Webb had been taking drugs, the judge said, but the driver was a "fatal accident waiting to happen that night".

Peter Webb was in the "prime of life" while Ben, a skilled footballer and keen Newcastle United fan, had "so many prospects and milestones ahead of him" but was "robbed of them all", Judge Gittins said.

"You will have to live with their deaths on your conscience for the rest of your days," the judge told Webb.

He was also banned from driving for 15 years and 5 months and will have to pass an extended test before being allowed to drive again.

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