Parents of drink-driving rugby player killed in head-on smash apologise to survivors

THE grieving parents of a rugby player who was drunk behind the wheel have apologised to the survivors of the head-on crash which took their son’s life.

Macaulay Campbell, 20, drank more than twice the legal limit of alcohol when he drove home from a party which was thrown in his honour at Romsey Rugby Club in Hampshire.

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The young sportsman was celebrating a win and a man of the match performance by taking part in drinking games at the club’s bar – even texting his girlfriend that he was too drunk to drive.

An inquest heard that Macaulay consumed “four or five pints” before causing the fatal crash, which resulted in his car exploding with him inside, on the A3057 near Romsey, on February 20.

The tragic player was driving his Volkswagen Lupo on the wrong side of the road and at speeds of up to 70mph when he ploughed into a BMW 520, injuring driver Mark Penn-Newman and his wife Rosemary.

In a statement, Macaulay’s parents apologised to the injured driver and passenger and said their son would be “mortified” by the grief he has caused.

Tracy and Colin Campbell said: “We apologise for the distress caused to the occupants in the other vehicle involved who were actually known to Mac.

“He would be mortified at the grief caused by the events of that night.

“We would hope that this sends out a very strong message to other young people about the dangers of drinking and driving."

Coroner Grahame Short called on the rugby club to introduce a formal policy to discourage drink driving and said it had "some onus to look after its members".

Robert Stent, the bar manager's son, told the inquest that he was the only employee behind the bar at the club that night.

Mr Stent said: “There was excitement and happiness and we wanted to make the most of beating difficult opposition.

“While I was aware that Mac was drinking, I was not keeping tabs of what everyone was drinking.

"I do not normally keep a track of what people are drinking at the time.

“Mac did not seem inhibited at all, and he left as he arrived, happy and full of life really.”

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Witness Christopher Clutterbuck, who was overtaken at speed by Macaulay moments before the crash, helped the passengers inside the BMW.

Clutterbuck told the inquest that he could not see anyone inside Mac’s Lupo which had smoke billowing out of it and later exploded.

Pathologist Dr Adnan Al-Badri said that the young rugby star was either dead or unconscious when the car burst into flames.

Collision investigator PC Michaela Mehigan said the high level alcohol which Macaulay consumed was the major factor in the crash which caused “colossal damage” to both vehicles.

The enormous amounts of booze hindered the 20-year-old driver’s judgement of speed, ability to react and impaired his judgement.

A toxicology test revealed he had blood alcohol level of 172 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres in his blood with the legal limit being 80 milligrammes.

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Police investigating officer Mark Brown added that Mr Penn-Newman was not at fault in any way and was travelling at a slower speed than the speeding Lupo.

Mac’s father Colin told the inquest there was a large puddle on the A3057 that day which may have caused his son to swerve, but crash investigators said there was no evidence of this.

The coroner concluded that the death was due to a road traffic collision.

The reports that the tragic death of Macaulay led to an outpouring of grief from friends and family.

His girlfriend Fleur Gollogly and his brother Sam, organised a huge event called MacFest, at Switch nightclub in Southampton, which raised nearly £12,500 for various good causes.

Singer Craig David, festival organiser Rob Da Bank and Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw were among the celebrities who offered their support to the event in April which took place two days before what would have been Macaulay’s 21st birthday.

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