Mother condemns justice system after driver who killed two children is released

Rhiannon Lucas has condemned the justice system as a ‘disgrace’ following the release of Martin Newman, the driver responsible for the deaths of her two young children.

In February 2022, Newman struck a stationary Ford Fiesta on the M4 near Newport, South Wales, while driving a Ford Transit van. At the time of the collision, Newman was over the legal alcohol limit and had cocaine in his system. The crash resulted in the deaths of four-year-old Gracie-Ann and three-year-old Jayden-Lee, and caused serious injuries to their mother.

Newman was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to nine years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was also disqualified from driving for over 14 years.

Ms. Lucas expressed outrage after learning that Newman was released last week after serving approximately half of his sentence. She criticized the lack of communication from the parole board and previously argued that the original sentence was ‘unduly lenient’ and ‘pathetic’ given the loss of her children's lives.