Death crash families back campaign against drink driving

2:32pm Thursday 4th December 2008

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TWO Partington families are using their grief to warn of the human cost of drink driving.

Amanda and Philip Peak lost their two sons Ben, aged 10 and Arron, eight, when their car was hit by footballer Luke McCormick on the M6 in July. McCormick has since been jailed for the crash in which he was twice the legal alcohol limit.

Phil, 38, broke his neck in the crash and family friend Phil Bennett, together with his sons Luke, 15, and Jackson, eight, were injured.

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper McCormick, 25, was sentenced to seven years after he entered guilty pleas to causing the deaths of the two former Forest Gate Primary School pupils by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.

Amanda, 31, said: “We decided to participate because everyone knows about our boys and it’s coming up to Christmas and everyone will be drinking more and won’t think twice about getting in their cars.

“We’ve said that we’re going to do whatever we can to make people more aware of what alcohol does to you and getting in your car after you’ve been drinking is ridiculous. Just don’t do it.

“When I learned Ben and Arron had been killed by someone who was drunk and Phil injured, the first thing I wanted to do as a mother was to beat the living daylights out of the person who did it. Then I thought “how stupid were they to get into the car?”

Lisa Bennett, 38, explained how her husband, Phil, 49, may never work again.

She said: “The accident has had a devastating impact on my family. Ben and Arron were like our own sons and were as much a part of our family as our own children.

“Jackson and Ben were best friends so it’s been very hard for him. He wants to be with Ben and doesn’t want to live without his best friend. He has images in his head no eight-year-old should ever see and they haunt him. My 11-year-old daughter Sophie was best friends with Arron and is feeling much the same.

“But the physical impact has been awful as well. My husband has needed an operation on his back and has nerve damage in his leg. I don’t think Phil will be able to work again, he is suffering from post-traumatic stress.”

The Peaks and the Bennetts’ determination to get the drink-driving laws tightened has seen them launch a campaign on Facebook, which already has 13,000 members, and a 5,000-strong petition. They will hand in the petition at Downing Street in February The couples attended an alcohol awareness event in Partington yesterday (Wednesday), aiming to hammer home the message of the devastating effects alcohol can have on people’s lives.

A selection of stands, displays and other information were presented by colleagues from Trafford’s Health Improvement Team, Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies.

The event, organised by Trafford Primary Healthcare Trust, took place at Partington Healthy Living Centre, Central Road, from 11am to 3pm.