Jail for BMW driver who killed young father in 116mph race with Aston Martin
A reckless motorist who killed a young father while racing his high-powered BMW against an Aston Martin at speeds of up to 116mph has been jailed for 32 months. The case serves as a grim reminder of the carnage that dangerous driving inflicts on innocent families across Britain.
How did the fatal crash unfold?
St Albans Crown Court heard that Keaton Ancona-Francis, 31, lost control of his black BMW 330D on the A414 in Hertfordshire on the evening of Monday 18 January 2021. He had just collected the new car from his then home in Ware and was heading to Harlow for a KFC takeaway.
Several witnesses reported seeing the BMW racing an Aston Martin DB11 down the dual carriageway. The court was told that Ancona-Francis, initially in lane one, pulled out to pursue the Aston Martin after it overtook him. Near Eastwick, he lost control, crossed onto the wrong side of the road, hit a barrier, and then struck a Vauxhall Corsa driven by Callum Dix.
Who was Callum Dix?
Mr Dix, 20, from Broxbourne, was the youngest of seven siblings and a father to a toddler son. He was on his way home from work when the crash occurred. The young man, who had been due to qualify as a vehicle mechanic, was trapped behind the wheel as his car burst into flames. He died from a traumatic head injury and third degree burns.
“Callum had a face full of sunshine and a heart of gold,” his family said in a statement at the time of his death.
Prosecutor Gary Venturi described Mr Dix as “entirely blameless,” noting he was simply making his way home at ten past six in the evening.
What sentence did the driver receive?
Ancona-Francis, now of Anderson Close in Winchmore Hill, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing on Monday 17 October. He suffered serious injuries himself when his BMW overturned, and later claimed he could not remember the incident when interviewed in late February.
Alongside the 32-month jail sentence, he was disqualified from driving for 52 months and must take an extended re-test.
What did the police and defence say?
Detective Constable Helen Giles, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “There is absolutely no excuse for speeding and I hope this serves as a warning to people of the devastating consequences it can have, for both the drivers themselves and for innocent road users like Callum who was simply making his way home from work.”
In mitigation, defence counsel Jonas Milner said Ancona-Francis was deeply remorseful and had written a letter to Mr Dix’s family. “It was not prolonged driving. It was a few seconds and a moment of reckless stupidity,” Mr Milner said. “He is religious and a family man with two children.”
This tragedy underscores a persistent problem on our roads: the casual recklessness of drivers who treat public highways as their private racetracks. The courts have done their duty, but no sentence can restore a young father to his son, nor ease the grief of a family left to mourn a life cut tragically short.