Drink-driver Ceiron Cook jailed after fiancee's crash death Published duration 20 March 2013

image caption Cook had been smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol before the crash

A drink-driver has been jailed for four years after leaving his fiancee to die in the wreckage of a car crash.

Ceiron Cook, 36, of Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, ran home and went to bed leaving Lynsey Popp, 28, alone in the car on a country road near the town.

Merthyr Crown Court heard motorists found the car smashed into a tree with Miss Popp in the passenger seat.

Cook admitted causing death by careless driving while over the alcohol limit.

Rachel Knight, prosecuting, told Merthyr Crown Court: "The car smashed into a tree but instead of calling the emergency services Cook ran off leaving her dead or dying.

"It was not until some time later that the crashed car was discovered by two passers-by who raised the alarm.

"They noticed the car was cold and that there was nobody in the driver's seat but to their horror they saw there was a passenger."

Miss Popp, who had two children, was taken to hospital but had died at the scene after suffering multiple injuries.

The court heard Cook was an uninsured provisional licence holder with a record of driving while disqualified and uninsured.

image caption Mother-of-two Lynsey Popp was a passenger in the car which hit a tree

He had said the car crashed in snow and icy conditions on a country road close to the Brecon Mountain Railway in Merthyr Tydfil.

Lucy Crowther, defending, said: "The harsh reality is that he does not care how long he receives in prison because as far as he is concerned he will never be able to forgive himself."

Cook had 124 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood - the legal limit is 80 - and had been smoking cannabis on the night of the tragedy.

Judge Richard Twomlow said: "It would seem that Lynsey died instantly. No words I can say or sentence I can pass can alleviate the loss and distress felt by her family."