Nadine Foster: Dangerous drivers jailed for 14 years for killing young Stourbridge mum
Dangerous drivers who killed a young mother during a two-mile race at almost 80mph have been jailed for a total of 14 years.
Joseph Chance and Dylan Stringer looked on as they were locked up for the fatal crash which killed 19-year-old Nadine Foster.
Former Dudley College student Miss Foster was a front seat passenger in a Ford Focus, driven by boyfriend Stringer, when it hurtled into a bus shelter and wall.
She was left with catastrophic injuries and died in hospital four days after last year's Stourbridge tragedy, leaving behind her then five-month-old son.
Sentencing the pair at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Judge Michael Challinor condemned the killers for driving without insurance and licences after swigging alcohol.
He handed Chance, of Murcroft Road, Stourbridge, an eight-year prison term and jailed Stringer, of Wychbury Road, Stourbridge, for six years on Tuesday.
The judge said: "The terrible reality of this case is that when Nadine lost her life, neither of you should have been behind the wheel of a car at all.
"Long after you are released, the catastrophic effects of what you have done will continue to echo down the years for the family and friends of Nadine Foster."
Chance previously admitted driving dangerously and denied causing Miss Foster’s death but was unanimously convicted by jurors last month, while Stringer pleaded guilty in January.
During the trial, jurors heard the men were with Miss Foster and Chance's ex-girlfriend in Rye Market's Chicago Rock Cafe before leaving just after midnight on April 16.
Chance was driving his Renault Clio ahead of Stringer's car when they both flouted the 30mph speed limit and overtook another vehicle on Hagley Road, Oldswinford.
There were just two seconds between the cars as they reached 78mph before Springer’s vehicle crashed, demolishing the bus shelter and damaging the wall as it overturned.
Prosecutor Mr Paul Spratt maintained the crash would not have occurred if Chance, who had a provisional licence and no 'L' plates, was not driving dangerously.
Police discovered the 25-year-old had 39 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath an hour after the collision. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
Mr Sunit Sandhu, defending Chance, said the defendant accepted the jury's verdict and was 'coming to terms' with the death of Miss Foster - who also studied at Stourbridge’s Pedmore Technology College.
Barrister Mr Richard Butcher, defending father-of-one Stringer, said the 'devastated' 24-year-old had been left blind in one eye following the smash.
Mr Butcher said Stringer, who was under the drink-drive limit three hours after the incident was remorseful, adding: "The fact that it was the driving of Mr Stringer that was the immediate cause of Miss Foster's death is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
"He is plagued by horrific nightmares of what had happened."
Chance was handed a 14-year driving ban and Stringer was disqualified from driving for 13 years.
Both, who must pay victim surcharges, received no separate penalty for driving without insurance or without a licence.
