A drug driver who killed a mother crossing the road after taking cannabis edibles told a 999 operator: ‘I’ve just run somebody over.’
Jake Bolton, 36, was travelling home from his traffic maintenance job when he hit Himabindu Yadla – known as Bindu – as she crossed Tramway Lane in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.
Bolton had twice the legal limit of cannabis in his blood after consuming edibles the weekend before and also tested positive for cocaine.
He was sleep-deprived and police found 6g of cannabis in a first-aid box in the boot of his Audi S3.
Ms Yadla, 37, was thrown into the air and landed on the road after Bolton hit her at around 6.30pm on October 24, 2024.
She suffered a brain injury and spent 18 days on life support before dying in the Royal Preston hospital on November 11.
Bolton is heard in audio of the 999 call he made after the crash telling an operator that he doesn’t know if Ms Yadla is breathing.
‘I’ve just run somebody over,’ he said. ‘She was just in the middle of the road.’
Peter Barr told Preston Crown Court that Bolton had been speaking to a friend on the phone at the time of the crash and finished the 55-second conversation by saying: ‘Oh no, I’ve just hit someone.’
Jake Bolton tested positive for cannabis and cocaine after crashing into and fatally injuring Himabindu Yadla
Video from Lancashire Police showed Bolton being taken into custody after the collision
The court also heard Bolton stopped after he crashed into the mother-of-one and called the emergency services.
He also told a bus driver who stopped at the scene that he was responsible for the crash before cooperating with the police investigation.
Another motorist who saw the collision said it was as though Bolton could not see Ms Yadla and she had ‘tunnel vision’.
‘It was almost as if I had seen it happening before it did,’ she said.
Bolton pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, driving with cannabis above the legal limit, driving without valid insurance and possession of a class B drug.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Yadla’s brother Hemanth said she had come to the UK to build a better life for herself and her eight-year-old daughter, whom she had left with her parents in India.
She took a Master’s degree in international business management and was preparing for her daughter to move to the UK.
The girl will now stay in India with her grandparents, Ms Yadla’s brother added.
‘Her death was so sudden and unexpected. It left us all shocked and deeply traumatised. It has left a massive hole in our lives, not just here but in India, particularly for her daughter. She lost her mother and the future Bindu worked so hard to build for her.’
Kris Cavanagh, defending, said Bolton’s remorse and guilt remained two years after the crash and he recognised no sentence could reflect the damage caused.
Mr Cavanagh said Bolton used cannabis to self-medicate after suffering trauma and was a family man with a strong work ethic who had not consumed any alcohol or drugs since the crash.
Judge Robert Altham, sentencing, said those who knew Ms Yadla described her as a ‘strong, intelligent, competent woman’ who had ‘overcome considerable difficulties’.
He said she had suffered childhood polio and ‘other adversities’ to build a ‘successful life’ in the UK, gaining her Master’s degree and establishing a career.
‘She was remembered and hopefully always will be remembered as a hardworking and resourceful human being
‘She was a devoted mother and daughter, a person who would work tremendously hard to create a better future for herself and her family,’ the judge added.
He told Bolton: ‘You need to understand – and I’m sure you do – the remarkable life you took away.
‘You had insufficient sleep, you were on a hands-free telephone and you were over twice the legal limit of cannabis. You struck her and you killed her.
‘Her brother describes the enduring impact on her family. She was in every sense the lynchpin between the older and younger generations.
‘She was working towards bringing her daughter to live with her but those plans have been abandoned.’
Bolton in a police car after he made a 999 call to tell an emergency worker: ‘I’ve just run somebody over’
Ms Yadla had studied for a Master’s degree since coming to the UK from India and was close to bringing her eight-year-old daughter to live with her
Mr Altham said he had read a pre-sentence report and references which described Bolton as a family man.
‘It is clear there is a lot of good in you,’ he said.
‘That day you chose to take cannabis and drive. Whilst you may in other respects be a thoroughly decent person, that is not a decent act.
‘That is the act of someone who took an unwarranted and avoidable risk with the life of someone else and you have heard what the consequence of that was.
‘It is your job to ensure you are fit to drive before you do.’
He said Ms Yadla was a vulnerable road user as she was a pedestrian who walked slower than others due to her childhood polio.
Mr Altham said he accepted Bolton’s remorse but jailed him for three years and ten months for causing death by driving without due care whilst unfit through drugs and banned him from driving for six years.
He gave Bolton no separate penalty for drug driving and driving without insurance, granting an absolute discharge for possession of cannabis.
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