Mother condemns release of drink-driver who killed her two children

Newman, who killed Gracie-Ann and Jayden-Lee in a motorway crash, has been released from prison after serving less than half of his nine-year and four-month sentence. Rhiannon Lucas, 30, said her probation officer told her he had been freed. She described the justice system as a ``disgrace'' and said Newman was ``a free man to do whatever he pleases while my two babies are lying in a grave.''

The crash happened when Newman, from Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot, drove his Ford Transit van into the family's red Ford Fiesta. The family had pulled over on the motorway because Gracie was feeling unwell while returning from a birthday party. The children were taken to the intensive care unit at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where they died. Rhiannon and the children's father were also taken to hospital.

Court heard Newman had been drinking vodka and 10 cans of cider until 05:00 on the day of the crash, and decided to drive home from Leicester, where he worked as a painter and decorator, because he was too hungover and tired to work. He had been drinking red wine while driving, was twice over the drink-driving limit, and had traces of cocaine in his system. He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court in April 2022 and banned from driving for 14 years and eight months.

Rhiannon said her surviving daughter, Summer-Gracie, now three, would never get to meet her siblings. She said she was expecting another baby ``who will never meet their siblings'' and that she had ``a life sentence of my own - one of grief, while he is free to live his life.'' She added that she had been trying to speak with the parole board.

The Ministry of Justice said: ``This was a devastating crime, and our deepest sympathies go out to the victims' loved ones.'' A spokesperson said release does not mean freedom and that offenders on licence must abide by strict conditions or risk being returned to prison. The department added that it had blocked death by drunk or dangerous driving offences from recent sentencing changes, so hundreds more offenders stay behind bars for longer.