Crash on late-night journey leaves newborn dead and father seriously injured
A driver high on amphetamines has been jailed for 14 years after ploughing into a young family’s car and killing a four-week-old baby. Craig Nunn, 40, was nearly twice the legal drug-driving limit when he ran a red light and smashed into a Suzuki Vitara in Worcestershire just after midnight on 26 October last year.
The baby, Harley Wilkinson, was being held by his father Jake Wilkinson in the front passenger seat during a short journey home from a family visit. The impact of the crash was so severe it threw Harley out of the window and onto the road. He died at the scene from a traumatic brain injury.
Speeding through red light while high on amphetamines
Nunn had been driving his Ford Focus at 90mph on a dual carriageway before entering a 40mph zone. Despite having over 11 seconds to stop after the lights turned red, he failed to brake before colliding with the family car. He later claimed his brakes failed, but no faults were found.
Jake Wilkinson suffered life-threatening injuries including a fractured spine and a severed artery. Harley’s mother, Imogen Bradley, had been driving and watched as her newborn was flung from the vehicle. It was Nunn who pointed out where Harley’s body had landed.
Weapons found in killer’s car
Police searching Nunn’s car discovered a knife, an imitation firearm and an axe. Nunn had 21 previous convictions, including dangerous driving. In court, Judge Martin Jackson said amphetamines were a “major contributory factor” in the crash and highlighted Nunn’s 20-year history of drug use, reportedly to self-medicate for ADHD.
‘You cut Harley’s life very short’
Ms Bradley described Harley as her “miracle” child and told Worcester Crown Court her world had been “ripped apart”. She said the loss was unbearable and that she was “broken”.
Nunn, appearing via video link from HMP Hewell, wept as he was sentenced. His defence admitted he had accepted responsibility and did not wish to ever drive again.
Judge Jackson told him: “You deliberately disregarded the rules of the road. Harley was never given the chance to grow up. That was entirely down to you.”
