Drink-driver who killed partner in Hewas Water garage crash jailed
BBCA drink-driver who crashed into a garage forecourt, killing his partner and damaging 22 cars, has been jailed.
Robert Monks' partner Kelly Pearce, 40, was a passenger in the car which ploughed into the garage in Hewas Water, Cornwall, in June 2017.
At Truro Crown Court, 39-year-old Monks admitted causing death by careless driving while over the legal alcohol limit and was jailed for five years.
A judge said Ms Pearce's death "could easily have been avoided".
The court heard the pair had been drinking for much of the day on 25 June, visiting pubs, restaurants and the Mevagissey feast festival.
After leaving KFC in St Austell just after 21:30 BST, Monks, of Hewas Water, drove his black Vauxhall Vectra on the A390.
About five minutes later he lost control and crossed a grass verge, colliding with a sign before smashing directly into 12 cars and damaging a total of 22 vehicles at the garage, the court heard.
Ms Pearce died at the scene while Monks remained in hospital with serious injuries until August.
Experts estimated his speed to be 77mph (123km/h) in a 50mph (80km/h) zone, and three other drivers gave evidence of how he had overtaken them in the minutes leading up to the crash.
Neither Ms Pearce nor Monks were wearing seatbelts and the car's headlights were not switched on, the court heard.
Monks, a former submariner, had a previous conviction for drink-driving from 2008, the court was told.
Judge Carr said: "You must have known you were over the limit by some distance and your driving during the journey was appalling."
He added: "The damage to your own car was such that it hardly resembles a car at all. You lost your partner of 10 years but that is your fault."
Emily Cook, defending, said Monks "takes full responsibility for the death of Kelly Pearce, and this is something he will live with for the rest of his life".
