A Burnham-On-Sea man was more than double the drink drive limit when he crashed into a tree killing one of his friends and leaving the other with life-changing injuries, a court has heard this week.
The court was told that Lee Stoodley was behind the wheel when a red BMW missed a turning and went over Dunball roundabout on the A38 before crashing on December 20th, 2015, before trying to flee the scene.
Tragically, passenger Lewis Rogers, was declared dead at the scene and another passenger, Daniel Reed, was rushed to hospital with life-changing injuries.
Stoodley, 31 of Gielgud Close in Burnham-On-Sea, appeared at Taunton Crown Court this week where he denied causing the death of Mr Rogers by careless driving.
Prosecuting, Ray Tully, told the court that the defendant had 88 microgrammes of alcohol on his breath when he was breathalysed after the crash which was wel over the legal limit.
Mr Stoodley said he was not driving the car, adding that Christopher Hampton was driving at the time of the crash. The prosecution believes this is untrue,
Stoodley denies the charge. The case continues.
