A Devonshire man who admitted responsibility for a 2023 head-on collision that claimed the life of a mother-of-two is to be sentenced next year.

Daniel Tucker, 37, pleaded guilty in September to causing the death of Lovella Cruz, 48, by driving while impaired.

Puisne Judge Alan Richards told Tucker today that the sentence would likely not be too far from the five years behind bars proposed by counsel in the case, but he had to make sure that the appropriate punishment was delivered.

He said: “I don’t think that the penalty that counsel are putting forward is completely out of line.

“It feels to me as though it’s probably close to the sentence that I will ultimately impose, but it is my responsibility to do my best to land on the right sentence in your case.”

The court heard that at about 10.50pm on November 9, 2023, Tucker and Ms Cruz were involved in a head-on collision on Somerset Road in Sandys.

Adley Duncan, for the Crown, said that Tucker was driving a car west near Cricket Lane when he veered fully into the eastbound lane, striking Ms Cruz who was riding east on a motorcycle.

Ms Cruz suffered a broken spine, broken ribs, a fractured skull and a shattered femur and subsequently died from her injuries.

Tucker told officers on the scene that he was driving in his lane at a reasonable speed when the motorcycle had appeared out of nowhere.

However, the officers noticed that his eyes were glazed and he smelled of alcohol.

Tucker admitted to the officers that he had three Planter’s Punches that evening and he subsequently provided breath samples which showed he was more than double the legal blood-alcohol limit.

Ms Cruz was a guest worker from the Philippines who came to the island in 2018 and was employed as a cleaner before becoming a caregiver working with terminally ill people.

During the hearing yesterday, the court heard a victim impact statement from Bernard Cruz, Ms Cruz’s eldest son, who said his mother's death had devastated the family.

He described his mother as a selfless and giving woman who left her home in an effort to make life better for her family in the Philippines.

Mr Cruz said: “Nothing can replace her presence in our lives. It was really hard for us to keep pushing through each day of our lives knowing the way she died.

“She didn’t deserve to die like that after all the sacrifices she made for our family.”

He added: “When we knew what happened our world fell apart. Our hearts were broken as our mother didn’t deserve that fate.”

In addition to the emotional trauma and stress caused by her sudden death, Mr Cruz said his mother’s passing had left the family in a difficult financial position because she was the breadwinner.

Mr Duncan told the court that given the prevalence of impaired driving on the island, the courts must deliver a sentence that would serve as a deterrent and that an immediate custodial sentence was warranted.

Based on the circumstances of the case, he said a five-year sentence would be appropriate.

However, Mr Justice Richards raised questions about legal precedence in similar cases to support the Crown’s recommendation.

The judge also highlighted that while a social inquiry report stated that Tucker had no previous offences, a drug assessment suggested he may have a previous alcohol-related conviction.

In all of the circumstances, Mr Justice Richards adjourned the sentencing decision until January 7, releasing Tucker on bail until then.

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