A driver who had taken cannabis edibles before getting behind the wheel told a 999 call handler, “I’ve just run somebody over,” after fatally striking a mother as she crossed the road.
Jake Bolton, 36, was on his way home from work in traffic maintenance when his Audi S3 hit Himabindu Yadla, known to friends and family as Bindu, on Tramway Lane in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.
Tests later showed Bolton had twice the legal cannabis limit in his bloodstream after eating edibles the previous weekend. He also tested positive for cocaine.
Investigators found he was sleep-deprived at the time, while police discovered 6g of cannabis hidden inside a first-aid box in the boot of his car.
Ms Yadla, 37, was thrown into the air and came down on the carriageway after being struck at about 6.30pm on October 24, 2024.
She sustained a severe brain injury and remained on life support for 18 days before dying at Royal Preston Hospital on November 11.
In audio from Bolton’s emergency call after the collision, he was asked whether Ms Yadla was breathing and replied: “I don’t know. I’ve just run somebody over.
“She was just in the middle of the road.”
Jake Bolton tested positive for cannabis and cocaine after crashing into and fatally injuring Himabindu Yadla
Video from Lancashire Police showed Bolton being taken into custody after the collision
Peter Barr told Preston Crown Court that Bolton had been speaking to a friend on the phone at the time of the crash and finished the 55-second conversation by saying: ‘Oh no, I’ve just hit someone.’
The court also heard Bolton stopped after he crashed into the mother-of-one and called the emergency services.
He also told a bus driver who stopped at the scene that he was responsible for the crash before cooperating with the police investigation.
Another motorist who saw the collision said it was as though Bolton could not see Ms Yadla and she had ‘tunnel vision’.
‘It was almost as if I had seen it happening before it did’, she said.
Bolton pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, driving with cannabis above the legal limit, driving without valid insurance and possession of a class B drug.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Yadla’s brother Hemanth said she had come to the UK to build a better life for herself and her eight-year-old daughter, whom she had left with her parents in India.
She took a Master’s degree in international business management and was preparing for her daughter to move to the UK.
The girl will now stay in India with her grandparents, Ms Yadla’s brother added.
‘Her death was so sudden and unexpected. It left us all shocked and deeply traumatised. It has left a massive hole in our lives, not just here but in India, particularly for her daughter. She lost her mother and the future Bindu worked so hard to build for her.’
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Bolton in a police car after he made a 999 call to tell an emergency worker: ‘I’ve just run somebody over’
Kris Cavanagh, defending, said Bolton’s remorse and guilt remained two years after the crash and he recognised no sentence could reflect the damage caused.
Mr Cavanagh said Bolton used cannabis to self-medicate after suffering trauma and was a family man with a strong work ethic who had not consumed any alcohol or drugs since the crash.
Judge Robert Altham, sentencing, said those who knew Ms Yadla described her as a ‘strong, intelligent, competent woman’ who had ‘overcome considerable difficulties’.
He said she had suffered childhood polio and ‘other adversities’ to build a ‘successful life’ in the UK, gaining her Master’s degree and establishing a career.
‘She was remembered and hopefully always will be remembered as a hardworking and resourceful human being
‘She was a devoted mother and daughter, a person who would work tremendously hard to create a better future for herself and her family,’ the judge added.
He told Bolton: ‘You need to understand – and I’m sure you do – the remarkable life you took away.
‘You had insufficient sleep, you were on a hands-free telephone and you were over twice the legal limit of cannabis. You struck her and you killed her.
‘Her brother describes the enduring impact on her family. She was in every sense the lynchpin between the older and younger generations.
‘She was working towards bringing her daughter to live with her but those plans have been abandoned.’
Ms Yadla had studied for a Master’s degree since coming to the UK from India and was close to bringing her eight-year-old daughter to live with her
Mr Altham said he had read a pre-sentence report and references which described Bolton as a family man.
‘It is clear there is a lot of good in you,’ he said.
‘That day you chose to take cannabis and drive. Whilst you may in other respects be a thoroughly decent person, that is not a decent act.
‘That is the act of someone who took an unwarranted and avoidable risk with the life of someone else and you have heard what the consequence of that was.
‘It is your job to ensure you are fit to drive before you do.’
He said Ms Yadla was a vulnerable road user as she was a pedestrian who walked slower than others due to her childhood polio.
Mr Altham said he accepted Bolton’s remorse but jailed him for three years and ten months for causing death by driving without due care whilst unfit through drugs and banned him from driving for six years.
He gave Bolton no separate penalty for drug driving and driving without insurance, granting an absolute discharge for possession of cannabis.
