A speeding driver who killed his girlfriend in a horror 100mph crash has been jailed for five years. Sam Barber was behind the wheel of his new BMW 315i he had picked up the day before the tragedy.
The 28-year-old lost control of the motor on the A72 in Biggar, Lanarkshire, before the vehicle flipped onto its roof. Passenger Beth Damer, 20 – his partner of one year at the time – never survived the smash on March 12, 2022.
Barber was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow. He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
It emerged the forestry worker, of Peebles in the Scottish Borders, already had convictions for careless driving and speeding at the time. Lord Arthurson cut the jail-term from six-and-a-half years due to the guilty plea.
The judge said: “The eloquent family impact statement I have read makes it plain just how much Beth Damer will be missed by her parents and brothers. She will forever be in their memories, a young woman with a whole life ahead of her, one with potential, promise, fulfilment and achievement. In the words of the impact statement she had ‘a beautiful life cut short’.”
The court previously heard how Miss Damer – a NHS clinical support worker – had gone with her partner to collect his new car the evening before the crash. On the afternoon of the incident, the couple were in the BMW when witnesses described it as “shooting past”.
One stated: “I watched in disbelief. I believe the car could have been well in excess of 90mph. I am well aware that on the road there is a camber, which made the speed of the car ridiculous.”
Another driver recalled the BMW then “losing control” before it hit a fence and ploughed into a field. The motor also rolled onto its roof once or twice. This witness stated: “He went past me…as if like a rally car sliding at an angle.”
People rushed to the crash scene to help as Barber frantically waved for assistance. The passenger door was ripped off and Miss Damer was trapped under the badly damaged car.
Prosecutor James Irvine said mercy crews arrived including a doctor flown in by helicopter. Miss Damer, of Crawford, Lanarkshire, sadly passed away. She suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision. Barber – who was also hurt – was heard by a police officer that afternoon to state: “I hate myself.”
Mr Irvine told the hearing: “Collision investigators examined the scene and formed the opinion Barber was driving at a speed of 103mph. The A72 is restricted to a national speed limit for cars of 60mph.” He added the cause of the smash was “solely” how fast the BMW was going.
Marco Guarino, defending, told the court: “Rarely have I seen such devastation in an accused person, but that is nothing to what the family of Beth Damer are suffering. Nothing will make up for their loss.”
Lord Arthurson stated no sentence should be viewed as a measure of the impact Miss Damer’s family have suffered. Barber was further banned from the road for a total of 12 years and six months.
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