Moment van driver asks ‘is she alive?’ as he is breathalysed after killing mother-of-two, 32, in crash after he downed six pints and sniffed a line of cocaine

A van driver who killed a mother-of-two after drinking six pints of beer and taking cocaine asked police if his victim was still alive.

Ashley Dean, 40, killed his girlfriend Lisa Birtwistle, 32, in a crash on Blackpool Road in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, on March 23 last year.

Dean had drank six pints of Peroni and snorted a line of cocaine ‘to sober him up’ before getting behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Vivaro van, Preston Crown Court heard.

Footage released by Lancashire Police shows him telling officers: “At least tell me if she’s alive.” in the back of the van after being asked to blow into a breathalyzer after the crash.

In the clip, police tell Dean they cannot confirm that information, and later arrest him on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Lisa Birtwistle, 32, was killed by her boyfriend Dean in a fatal accident in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, on March 23 last year

Mrs Birtwistle was pronounced dead at Blackpool Victoria Hospital the same night.

As she lay dying in the street, Dean, a painter and decorator, called his wife and threw away three bags of cocaine in an alley near the collision.

A passing motorist stopped to help Mrs Birtwistle, called 999 and administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Dean, of Argyll Road, Poulton-le-Fylde, has been jailed for nine years and five months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing death while driving without insurance.

Judge Ian Unsworth said at sentencing: ‘You did nothing to help her.’

Peter Barr, prosecuting, told the court that Dean had parked at the Castle Gardens pub on Poulton Road shortly after 4pm on March 23. He had arranged to get a ride home from his wife, he said.

Mrs Birtwistle was already in the pub with her friend Danielle Eastwood. The pair had planned to stay until 7pm, but Mrs Birtwistle called her parents and asked them to put her children to bed so they could stay out a little longer.

Witnesses said Dean was “drunk, intoxicated and dizzy.” As Mrs Eastwood left the pub at 8pm, she warned Mrs Birtwistle: ‘Don’t get in the van with him when he’s driving.’

CCTV footage showed Dean leaving the pub at 8.40pm to collect three bags of cocaine. Mrs Birtwistle left at 8.42pm to go home. But as she crossed the car park she came across Dean returning to the pub and was persuaded to go back for another drink.

At 10.15pm Dean left the pub and got into his van with Mrs Birtwistle in the passenger seat. As he drove down Blackpool Road – at a speed of 70 to 80km/h in a 50km/h zone – he lost control of the van on a sharp left bend.

Dean (pictured) had consumed six pints of Peroni beer and a line of cocaine before getting behind the wheel

The van turned 180 degrees and collided with a stone gate post, which was resting on two wheels, while the other wheels were in the air. Lisa was thrown from the vehicle onto the road, where she lay fatally injured.

Judge Unsworth told Dean: “At that stage your thoughts were not with Lisa but with your own self-preservation. You unbuckled your seat belt and got out of the car. Looking at her, it must have been a snapshot.

“The occupant of a passing vehicle stopped. He parked his car in the middle of the road and turned on his hazard lights. He saw Lisa lying on the ground and went to try to help her.

“He saw you standing in the back of the van. When he asked you what happened, you said you didn’t know. You dishonestly told one of his friends that you had had “a few drinks.”

‘He stayed with Lisa. He checked her pulse and followed the paramedic’s instructions. He stayed with her and did everything he could to help her. You did nothing to help her.”

Andrew Scott, mitigating, said Dean has no previous convictions and is highly regarded as a husband, father, colleague and friend. He said Dean immediately accepted he was responsible for the tragic incident, telling a probation officer: ‘There is no one to blame but myself.’

He said testimony given to the judge spoke of Dean in a different light and “separated the man from the act.” Mr Scott said: ‘He is happy to accept the sentence he will receive.’

Mrs Birtwistle’s parents, Elaine and Jim Birtwistle, read moving victim impact statements to the court, telling of the pain they endured as a result of their beloved daughter’s death.

Mrs Birtwistle’s parents, Elaine and Jim, told Preston Crown Court of their suffering and the impact her death would have on her two children

They talked about the impact on Lisa’s children, who now face a future without their mother.

Judge Unsworth said: ‘You knew you were driving excessively, and you knew it was you, and you alone, who caused Lisa’s death by dangerous driving.’

He sentenced Dean to nine years and four months, suspended for nine months, for driving without insurance.

He also banned him from driving for fourteen years and five months and ordered him to take an extended retest if he wanted to get behind the wheel again.