Driver who killed two people in St Ives crash is jailed

A DRIVER who killed two people after attempting a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre at more than 100mph has been jailed.

Benjamin McDonald, 23, tried to overtake his friend on a blind brow of a hill on the B1040 in St Ives on July 27, last year.

But he smashed head-on into a Toyota Celica travelling in the other direction.

The impact caused McDonald’s Nissan 200SX to roll across the carriageway and into a Mazda 3TS – killing the driver Attila Kubanda, 28, and his passenger Katalin Bedo, 31, both of Wolfe Crescent, London.

McDonald, of Oilmills Road, Ramsey Mereside, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (Thursday).

He was jailed for four years and disqualified from driving for three years.

PC Pete Bimson said: “This is an extremely sad case and my thoughts are with the family of Attila and Katalin.

“McDonald was driving at dangerous speeds and showing off in his modified car. He attempted to overtake on a blind brow of a hill and had to cross a solid white line to do so.

“His actions on that day did not just affect the lives of the two people he killed and their friends and family, but it will also have a profound effect on his own life. He will have to live with what he has done.

“While nothing can stop the hurt felt by the couple’s families, I hope today’s conviction will bring them some comfort.”