A47 triple tragedy: why did killer driver not get life?

But as well as escaping the crash that left a family shattered with just two broken ribs, Aurelijus Cielevicius also escaped a life sentence.

Jade Mace, 25, her mother Lisa Carter, 49 and her step-father Paul Carter, 41, died when Cielevicius's BMW collided head-on with their Vauxhall Mocha on the A47 near King's Lynn on January 15.

From left Paul Carter, Lisa Carter, Jade Mace and Summer Mace (Image: Summer Mace)Builder Paul Carter and his wife Lisa, who worked as a mobile hairdresser (Image: Summer Mace)Jade Mace, who was killed in the crash with her mother and step-father (Image: Summer Mace)Cielevicius, 39, who was 15 times the drug drive limit after taking crystal meth, admitted three counts of causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at Norwich Crown Court.

The maximum sentence for the offence was increased from 14 years to life six months before the crash, in June 2022. 

Yet the judge that sentenced him on June 20 of this year gave him 10 and a half years in prison, meaning he could be considered for release in seven years' time.

Sentencing guidelines for judges were published weeks after Cielevicius was led away from the dock.

They say "culpability" factors which should be taken into account include the deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and disregard for the risk of danger to others, driving while highly impared by alcohol or drugs and at a speed significantly in excess of the limit.

Cielevicius, of John Street, Lynn, ticked all three boxes. He was also on bail for drug offences and under a curfew when he got behind the wheel.

A police custody picture of Aurelijus Cielevicius (Image: Norfolk Constabulary) When police questioned the sentence under the courts' review procedure, they were told it wasn't unduly lenient.

Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson MP said in response: "Nothing that I say and no sentence, however long, could ever bring Paul, Lisa and Jade back or undo the despicable act of the offender.

"A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so.

The A47 near King's Lynn where the crash happened (Image: Chris Bishop)"After detailed examination of the case, I am afraid it is not possible to meet this threshold and in those circumstances I cannot properly make such a referral."

Some 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for the sentence to be reviewed which was set up on Monday by Summer Mace - Jade's younger sister - and her father Jason.

Miss Mace, 24, said: "I just feel the sentence was a huge insult to my family that I've lost, it's a huge insult to every one of my family members that's going through loss, to every friend they ever had, to every customer they had, it's just an insult to everyone.

Summer Mace, who lost her sister, mother and step-father when a drug driver ploughed into their car (Image: Chris Bishop)"He got in that car knowing he wasn't stable to be driving. He got in that car knowing he was going against the rules, the laws, so why give him such a short sentence for taking three peoples' lives, three people that meant everything to me? It's just so insulting."

Miss Mace would have been in the car with her family and would almost certainly have died alongside them had she not been staying with her partner in Hertfordshire.

"I still have a lot of guilt I shouldn't be feeling," she said. "It still makes me feel sick.

Summer Mace (left) with her mother Lisa Carter, her sister Jade and step-father Paul Carter (Image: Summer Mace)"I didn't know what had happened until the next day. It was like I went away for the night and came back to nothing."

Mobile phone calls and messages went unanswered on the family's Whatsapp chat the following day.

When she checked the family's Ring doorbell, she saw the car was not in the drive and found footage of police officers calling at the house.

Summer Mace, who lost her sister, mother and step-father when a drug driver crashed into their car (Image: Chris Bishop)Police came to the school where she teaches in King's Lynn the following day to break the news.

Six months later, she told the court that sentenced Cielevicius: "For me there is no future – Mum, Paul and Jade were my whole world – they were the glue that held us all together.

"On January 15 you did not just kill three of my family members, you killed and destroyed our entire family, you killed and destroyed four entire family units.

"You have killed our future lives, thoughts and hopes – as we have none without them."