Teen says her world was 'changed forever' after her mum was killed by drug driver
A TEENAGER told today how a drug driver tore her family apart when he killed her mother by ploughing into their car as they returned from a funeral.
Lewis Faulkner (right) was jailed for causing the death of Tereasa Cutler by dangerous driving
Distraught Alice Cutler said “my life changed forever” adding: “Things like this really do happen to ordinary families.”
The 18-year-old spoke as Lewis Faulkner was jailed after he admitted causing the death of Tereasa Cutler, 49, by dangerous driving.
Faulkner also pleaded guilty to causing serious injury to Alice, her brother Daniel, 16, and cousin Joe, 19, by dangerous driving.
Tereasa Cutler (centre) with her children Alice Cutler and Dan Cutler
They needed weeks of hospital treatment after 25-year-old Faulkner drove his BMW into their Ford Fiesta after taking ecstasy and cannabis.
I feel vulnerable on a daily basis because I do not have my mum there to comfort me and guide me
Much-loved Mrs Cutler, who lost her husband to cancer in 2006, was driving home from her sister Patricia Woodland’s burial when the tragedy unfolded near Wimborne, Dorset.
At Bournemouth Crown Court, where Faulkner was jailed for four years and four months, the distraught teenager said: “I lost my mum, my best friend and became an orphan.
“Not only did this event change my life, it irreparably changed the life of my brother Daniel, my cousin Joseph, my aunt and uncle Julie and Steven - my entire family.”
Mrs Cutler with her children Alice and Daniel
The court heard how Faulkner smashed head-on into the family’s car after falling asleep at the wheel on the A31 in June last year.
They were tended by the same paramedics who provided a guard of honour at ambulance technician Mrs Woodland’s funeral.
Mrs Cutler, a volunteer welfare officer with a football club near the family home in Ringwood, Hampshire, had become guardian to her sister’s son Joseph following her death.
A toxicologist said the defendant may have been experiencing the come-down effects of cannabis and ecstasy traces found in his blood.
Court heard how Faulkner smashed head-on into the car after falling asleep at the wheel on the A31
Miss Cutler, whose poignant remarks came in a victim impact statement, said she no longer felt safe inside a car.
She said: “I feel vulnerable on a daily basis because I do not have my mum there to comfort me and guide me.
“Instead, all I have is a grave which provides me with little comfort. An accident like this changes you. You see the world differently.
“I should be at home with my mum and my brother enjoying our life together which Mum had worked so hard to provide for us.
“Instead I am stood here today, mourning the needless loss of my mum’s life, which was so unnecessary."
Lewis Faulkner, 25, arriving at court
She added: “I will grow up without my mum.
“My children will not know their grandmother and there will be an empty seat at our weddings where mum should have been had it not been for the 10 June last year.”
Faulkner, of Dorchester, Dorset, also admitted causing death while uninsured and was banned from driving for four years and eight months.
Sergeant Lee Savage, of Dorset Police’s road traffic unit, said: “This is one of the most heart-breaking cases I have dealt with.
“I would like to pay tribute to them for the strength they have shown throughout this tragic time.”