Mum’s heartbreaking tribute to son, 16, killed by drink-driver on wrong side of road
A devastated mother has paid tribute to her “respectful and handsome” teenage son after he was knocked down and killed by a drink-driver.
Junior Alexander, 16, was riding an e-scooter when he was struck by James Biscoe, who was driving a red Fiat Punto on the wrong side of Southborough Lane, Bromley, in July last year.
Mr Alexander was thrown some distance and hit a tree, suffering serious injuries before he died in hospital.
Biscoe, 21, has now been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, driving over the alcohol limit, and failing to stop at the scene of a crash.
Following the sentence, Mr Alexander’s mother, Donna Lonergan, said her family’s lives “will never be the same”.
She said: “Junior was a kind, humble, intelligent, respectful and handsome young man. He was very academic and was aiming to become a lawyer.
“He was waiting for his GCSE results to choose one of the four offers he was given to go on to further education. He never got to collect his results, the seven high Bs and two As, that he worked so hard to achieve.
“[Biscoe] killed my innocent son. He made the choice to drive drunk, at speed on the wrong side of the road. He then left him to die alone on the road side. He didn’t even call him an ambulance to give him a fighting chance.
“Our lives will never be the same, we are broken. The night he brutally killed my son, my heart stopped beating.”
Debris of the car Biscoe was driving was found at the scene of the crash, that took place in the early hours of 18 July, 2021 and police immediately set about finding the vehicle responsible.
Officers received a call to Southwood Close in Bromley, around one kilometre away from where the crash took place, after a damaged vehicle was found at 5.25am.
Biscoe was found asleep in the driver’s seat with the engine off and the keys in the ignition. As officers woke him, his speech appeared slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and he smelled strongly of alcohol.
Following a breath test, he was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drink.
Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit showed that, at the time of the incident, Biscoe would have had an alcohol level within his body of approximately 106 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal prescribed limit is 35 micrograms.
Analysis of CCTV footage confirmed that Biscoe had driven on the wrong side of the road and was travelling at least 50mph in the 30mph speed limit. Pieces of debris found at the scene were also proven to be from his vehicle.
Detective sergeant Nick Bale, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “The manner of Biscoe’s driving, and the condition he was in at the time, meant that Junior’s injuries were catastrophic.
“I know that life for his family has never been the same since, and they will continue to grieve for him for many, many years to come.”
Biscoe, of Windsor Drive, was also banned from driving for 10 years.