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An uninsured motorist who caused the death of his two passengers when he ploughed into a tipper truck during a police chase has been jailed for nine years.
Guy Tomlinson, 37, was told by a judge he was driving so dangerously he might as well have 'pulled the trigger' to kill his friends.
A court heard he smashed a silver Peugeot 206 GTI into the back of the Ford Transit while being pursued by an unmarked police car just before midnight on March 9 last year.David Anger, 24, and Christopher Needham, 37, who were passengers in the car, were pronounced dead at the scene on Fosse Road South in Leicester.
The trio were being followed by police when their vehicle careered into a white tipper truck as it sped across a junction.Shocking CCTV footage captured the horrific collision and showed how the force of the impact rammed the Ford truck into the front of a corner shop.
Tomlinson, of Leicester, was yesterday jailed for nine years and banned from driving for 15 years after he is released from prison.Sentencing him at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Dean told him his driving was like 'playing Russian roulette'.
He said: 'You killed your two friends David Anger and Christopher Needham.
'You did not do that deliberately but the dangerousness of your driving was similar to pointing a loaded pistol to you friends' heads and playing Russian roulette.
'You drove at excessive speeds, engaged in dangerous manoeuvres, you drove through red traffic lights and ultimately you did play Russian roulette.
'You really pulled the trigger on your friends and killed them in that instant.'
Tomlinson, who had been smoking cannabis earlier on the day of the crash, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving in November last year.
He also pleaded guilty two counts of causing death by driving while uninsured and two counts of causing death by driving while unlicensed.
He buried his head in his hands as horrific footage from the shop’s CCTV and traffic cameras were played in court.
A court heard the Peugeot caught the attention of a policeman coming off duty after it jumped red lights outside Leicestershire Police’s headquarters in Enderby.Tomlinson then drove through more red lights and performed dangerous overtakes as he travelled at 80mph.
Prosecutor Ian Way said the Peugeot was travelling at about 65mph in a 30mph limit when it collided with the truck.
The force of the smash forced the Ford truck into the front of Snutch Convenience store, causing £50,000 worth of damage.
Tomlinson’s passengers, Mr Anger and Mr Needham, both from Leicester, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
The two men in the truck and Tomlinson, who was pulled from the burning Peugeot by the off-duty police officer, all survived the collision.