A man whose wife died in a high-speed crash has told for the first time how his life has been destroyed.

Gordon Legg spoke yesterday after a judge threw out an appeal by the man responsible for her death to get his six-year jail sentence quashed.

Grandmother Susan Legg, 48, of West Royd Walk, Shipley, was killed in August last year when her Fiat car was struck on the M62 by a Subaru Impreza being driven at speeds of more than 120mph by a drug-fuelled man who thought he was being followed by a one-eyed crow.

The driver, David Whitnall of Manchester, went to London's Court of Appeal where he fought his six-year-sentence for causing Mrs Legg's death - but lost.

Mr Legg, who wept when he heard the news, said Whitnall's loss of liberty was nothing compared to his devastated family's own intolerable suffering and loss.

Mr Legg, 50, had been driving on the M62 near Ferrybridge on their way to a caravanning holiday when the crash happened.

And he had to fight for his own life, spending four weeks in Pinderfields Hospital's intensive care unit with fractures to his back, shoulders and ribs.

Mr Legg, who lost his production worker job because of his injuries, said his life had been torn apart. He said: "I had been hoping the Court of Appeal would add years on but I'm happy he has lost his appeal. He will serve his sentence and live a life again, I will not. My life sentence will go on forever.

"I still can't sleep. I go through what happened every night wondering if I could have done anything to stop what happened. I can not cope, I'm on anti-depressants and have to take so many painkillers I've become addicted. I am not coping, I'm lost."

Mr Legg also revealed how his bosses at a shampoo and conditioner factory had been forced to lay him off because he had been off sick for 12 months.

He said: "They were good to me for as long as they could but when it was obvious I wouldn't be able to go back they had no other choice.

"They have said there's a job for me when I feel ready to go back but I can't see that far ahead."

As well as a daily cocktail of painkillers Mr Legg still has to have regular injections to try to numb some of the "torture" in his back.

Mr Legg, who lives with his son and daughter-in-law and has a daughter living next door, also spoke of his disgust that Whitnall's driving disqualification had already started despite him being behind bars.

"The ten-year ban should start from day one when he gets out of prison. I see driving as a gift you are given, it's not a right. If you are capable of driving at 126mph and killing someone, you should have that gift taken away from you for good," he said.

Yesterday three judges dismissed Whitnall's appeal on the basis the sentence was "fully justified". Mr Justice Tugendhat, sitting with Lord Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Davis, said that there was no dispute that it was a case of the "most serious culpability".

Whitnall had been driving with his knees at the time of the crash while showing signs of drug-induced psychosis. He originally pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court and was sentenced in February.

The court heard that Whitnall's behaviour became increasingly bizarre in the weeks before the collision and that he was paranoid, delusional and thought a one-eyed crow was following him.

He had been taken to see his GP, who had arranged an appointment with specialists for the Tuesday after the incident.

The self-employed paint sprayer had smoked skunk cannabis almost daily from his teenage years until, on his account, two weeks before the tragedy. On his arrest, a 16.5g bag of cannabis was found in his jeans and traces of the drug were found in his blood.

The Court of Appeal judges, who had read a letter from Mr Legg, expressed sympathy for the "appaling suffering" inflicted on his family.

e-mail: kathie.griffiths@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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