An Isle of Wight man who killed a father-of-four in a fatal collision whilst high on drugs almost 20 years ago has once again been banned from getting behind the wheel after being caught drug driving.
41-year-old Gareth Edward Furmidge, now of York Road in Sandown, was just 22-years-old when he was involved in a crash at Wootton which killed David Mather. The incident happened on 28th March 2002 whilst Mr Mather was driving home from work.
Winchester Crown Court heard at the time how Furmidge had stolen a vehicle and consumed a cocktail of cannabis, ecstasy and a significant amount of alcohol before crashing into David Mather’s car on a mini roundabout. He received a 6-year prison sentence and a 10-year driving ban after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Shockingly, in July last year, Furmidge was once again caught behind the wheel having consumed drugs – cocaine and cannabis. Officers stopped Furmidge on Staplers Road on 8th July 2020 and he was arrested on suspicion of drug driving – around 1 mile from where the fatal collision occurred 18 years previously.
Blood examination discovered that the convicted dangerous driver, who is known to have in excess of 17 previous convictions for drink, drug and driving-related offences, had Benzoylecgonine [cocaine] in his system (84 ug/l, legal limit 50 ug/l), as well as cannabis (2.5 ug/l, legal limit 2 ug/l).
Now, Gareth Furmidge has been banned from getting behind the wheel for at least the 6th time – with 4 previous driving bans before 2002’s tragic incident and subsequent 10-year ban.
He appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court last Tuesday and was handed an 18-month driving disqualification and ordered to undertake 40 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £150 costs with a £95 surcharge.
Island Echo has approached the Crown Prosecution Service for a statement on the sentencing.
Sgt Simon Morgan of the Isle of Wight’s Joint Armed Response and Roads Policing Unit has said:
“Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both, is a major contributory factor that will increase the chances of you and others being seriously or fatally injured, in a road traffic collision. Even the smallest amount of alcohol or drugs in your system can impair your ability to drive.
“We regularly conduct enforcement on the Isle of Wight to target those who put others at risk on the roads, and we educate drivers around their behaviours to ensure they are being safe and responsible behind the wheel.
“We hope this case is a reminder to people that there are consequences to driving dangerously, and we will not tolerate it.”
What an absolute parasite scumbag! ! !
A whole page about you furmidge well done your a celebrity. I was a kid back then am not now can’t wait to see you xx
From your surname I am guessing you a a relative who suffered greatly from the original incident.
I just wanted to say how sad I am that you are forced to carry this pain every day. I have no words to make it easier for you, but wanted you to know that there are many people who care.
I would love to see him with you .l understand how you feel my thoughts are with you
That can be arranged were have a smashing time
So glad to see he has learnt his lesson.
Legal limit for illegal drinks? The law is an ass.
Why as he been spared a custodial sentence? Absolutely outrageous this menace to society is free to get behind the wheel of a car again, and he will!
A whole page about you furmidge well done your a celebrity. I was a kid back then am not now can’t wait to see you xx
Sack the bloody judges in this country. Absolute disgrace.
The judges are as bad has the scumbags, I’m sick and tired of the ass of law in this country, but what can we do to change it when we have become a nation of snowflakes…
These were magistrates not a judge and jury unfortuneatly
Juries should be allowed to give sentences NOT judges. IF all were told by the judge the min and max sentences, and an average of the jury’s sentence were chosen, it would be much fairer.
I think our jails are now so full that judges aren’t allowed to give the sentence they would like to do, that, or they are hardened by even more vile imported crimes now.
All we can do is vote this council out, as they will fill our Island with many many more of this type when the build thousands of homes filled with main land rejects.
Watch, and see.
Indeed!
Send them to the mainland or jail them for a reasonable amount of time
Snowflake society wants us to think rehabilitation is the best way!
Scum is scum and always will be
People like you are too lazy and too stupid to take part in the democratic process so you get precisely the politicians that you deserve. Once again I say, are you ready to put up or shut up and stand for election yourself. My bet is that don’t have the guts to put yourself forward because its so much easier to moan, whinge and whine from the sidelines
Sad maybe but what is the point of LIFE imprisonment ? Waste of money. They should still have the death penalty for those. That way the prisons would never be full…
There wouldnt have been a jury as it was a magistrates court not crown court.
This was magistrates not a judge, he should have been sent to Crown court for the numerous offences he has commited in the past then he would have hopefully been given a sentence.
Can we do away with these out of touch overpaid buffoons called Judges?! Replace with some kind of panel of people some maybe the victims family to dish out the punishment?! I’m sure they’d do a better job. The justice in this country STINKS.
Hey they could televise the courts and get the watchers to vote what punishment should be….
Hope it crashes into a similar low life coming the other way, two birds, BOTH stoned.
cemented! Creme del la creme
wow unbelievable a young woman who made a mistake riding an e scooter through Newport with a few drinks inside her who most probably didn’t know she was breaking the law gets a two year ban and this person gets an 18 month ban after repeat offending what a joke is the law an ass i ask my self.
Brilliant point.Thought the ban for riding a e-scooter was a bit over the top.Just shows the staggering inconsistency of our justice system
They wanted to make an example of e-scooters laws…
Is this a sick joke?? is killing someone and then continually breaking the law not a red flag that this individual will never learn until he is confined and treated as a dangerous criminal and never allowed to get the chance to endanger anyone again. I pity anyone who has to endure this addict in any kind of work situation and he will never pay the fines because he is unemployable and has no intention of changing – he thinks the police are powerless and the law will never apply to him and he is right.
bring back capital punishment … an eye for an eye he Cleary hasn’t learnt his lesson and will never be a up standing member of society !!
As we have seen before these serial drug and drink drivers never learn time after time the police catch them behind the wheel and two weeks later caught again with no tax mot or insurance all we can hope for is one day he hits a tree and not another car
Quite frankly I am baffled as to why this cretin, with his long list of offences, has been sentenced to anything less than a permanent lifetime ban.
So you can effectively murder someone by drug driving, continue offending in the same manner for decades and when you are caught you get a slap on the wrist. So wrong. He has changed lives forever and should never walk a free man again, let alone be allowed to drive again. I flabbergasted. You get worse punishments for much lesser offences, this is truly appalling.
PUT HIM DOWN!
He should be terminated. Pure scum
‘The law is an ass’ was never truer.
Should be locked up and the keys thrown away.
Wow, 6 years for killing someone… that is not impressive, what the driver do, forward £20 quid to the judge !! That is a very low and stupid charge, now he is back out driving around laughing his head off at how lenient the whole system is… I do hope a bridge jumps out in front of the twat !
Every body who feels like what he done now and in the past feel free to give out some old fashioned punishment
I remember this accident when it happened. And how awful it was. I think of this man and his family every time I pass the mini roundabout, and I see the flowers left there. How selfish these people are when they take their drugs and get into a car not giving a care about anyone else. This Island would be a lovely place again if it was not for them.
If my math’s are right, he was still banned, as it was for 10years making 2022 before he could drive again assuming!! he would have to re-sit a test. So surely he should be banned for life. Be interesting to know what the police really thought of the so called punishment.
Same he didn’t die in that crash 20 years ago.