A FATHER-OF-THREE died under the wheels of a 17-tonne truck when a drunken businessman decided to drive it home after a night out.
Thomas Armstrong, 37, crashed the lorry into Billy Bell's Ford Escort, crushing the car.
Armstrong, a self-employed plant hire operator, and his wife, Beverley, had enjoyed a night out on the town when he decided to drive in the early hours of June 29, last year.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Armstrong - who was jailed for seven years - bought the vehicle the day before in West Yorkshire and, despite having no HGV licence, drove it back to Northumberland.
He then parked the lorry in Newbiggin, visiting pubs in the seaside town before being refused entry to a nightclub in nearby Bedlington.
Armstrong then decided to drive himself and his wife to their home at The Pines, Ulgham, near Morpeth, in the lorry.
The vehicle was approaching a junction of the A197 when it hit 44-year-old Mr Bell's taxi.
Armstrong admitted causing death by dangerous driving, driving with no insurance, driving without a HGV licence, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.
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