Speeding teen with no brakes killed loved grandad

A speeding teenager with broken brakes who killed a beloved grandfather in a crash has been jailed for seven and a half years.

James Waddell was travelling at 72mph in a 30mph zone when he smashed into Paul Andrew Fulcher's car in Sunderland in April 2025, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The 53-year-old's family said he was a "real man" who had been stolen from them, while Waddell was an "arrogant boy" and "killer".

Waddell, who was 19 at the time and is now 21, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. Judge Tim Gittins said he had been driving "like a maniac" and the teenager's "selfish, arrogant and thoughtless actions" had killed a much-loved family man.

Waddell had bought the red Subaru Forester XT on Facebook three days before the crash, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

Shortly before 11:00 BST 14 April 2025, Fulcher was turning on to the A690 out of Ettrick Grove when Waddell, who was speeding along the main road, struck his VW Tiguan "with force", the court heard.

He suffered multiple injuries including broken ribs and a collapsed lung and died 11 days later in hospital from blunt force chest injuries, the court heard.

An investigation concluded three of the Subaru's four brakes were "metal on metal" with "no braking capacity left", Dowling said, with their defectiveness immediately obvious to anyone driving it.

Waddell was travelling at "no less than" 72mph in the 30mph zone when he hit Fulcher, the court heard, and had already alarmed other drivers with his impatience and speeding in the moments before the crash.

The grandfather would have had plenty of time to complete his manoeuvre safely if it were not for Waddell "tearing" along at excessive speed, Dowling said.

Five members of his family, including his mother, wife and daughters, attended court to tell Waddell of the utter devastation he had caused.

"The day you stole him you also stole our future plans," his wife told Waddell, adding the teenager had been driving like he was on a "racecourse" and her husband stood no chance.

"As you stand here, probably crying for your self pity, just remember, our family has been given a life sentence of pain and sorrow," she said.

One of the victim's daughters said she would be "forever haunted" seeing him "petrified" and "in so much pain" in hospital before he died.

"You are an arrogant 21-year-old boy who thinks you are above the law," she told Waddell, adding her father was a "real man" whose shoes the teenager would never be able to fill.

"You are not a human, you are a killer," she said.

Fulcher's family said he was the "best" man, hilarious and kind with hundreds of friends.

"This is the man you killed on the day you chose to drive like an idiot," one of them told Waddell.

The teenager had "ruined" so many lives, they said.

The court heard Waddell had a clean licence and no previous convictions, but had accrued eight points for driving without insurance five months after the crash.

He had also initially denied offending and sought to blame his victim, the court heard.

In mitigation, Harriett Snookes said Waddell was sorry and had been "demonstrably traumatised" by the crash.

Judge Tim Gittins said Waddell's car was in a "deplorable state" and the disrepair of its brakes "would have been readily apparent as a serious and dangerous problem" to the driver.

He said it was obvious Fulcher was the "embodiment of the heart and soul of a close family", who was "clearly much loved and loving" and "well respected" by many.

"Your selfish, arrogant and thoughtless actions in driving like a maniac that day have cost a man his life when he had years left to enjoy it with his family," the judge told Waddell.

"Just as importantly, you have left a painful void in the family's lives that clearly cannot be filled," Gittins said, adding their words should "echo in your conscience for the remainder of your days".

Waddell, of King Edward Street in Sunderland, was also banned from driving for 11 years and will have to pass an extended test.

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