A drunken teenager who ran over and killed his mother in a fit of temper has been sent to a young offenders' institution.
Lewis Foster, 19, was drunk and emotional when he got behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Corsa on July 12 last year.
Foster, a landscape gardener, had spent the afternoon drinking with his boss in Cornwall but later got into an argument with his mother when he returned to his family home in St Austell.
He began revving the vehicle, causing his mother Deborah Jones to come to the lane at the back of the house where the Corsa had been parked and beg him to stop.
Foster, who had a provisional licence, said his foot slipped on the clutch, causing the vehicle to spring backwards and pin his mother underneath the wheels.
She was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead the following morning with severe multiple injuries.
Judge David Ticehurst said the case was "tragic", and described Foster's behaviour as "reckless", adding: "Had you spent a moment or two thinking about the situation, had you not been drunk, had you not been in temper, you would not have been here (at court)."
The judge, sitting at Truro Crown Court yesterday, said he would "temper justice with mercy," sentencing Foster to 12 months' detention after the teenager pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Foster was also banned from driving for four years.
The teenager, wearing a dark suit and blue tie, wept throughout the 20-minute hearing as details of the night of the incident were heard in court.
Prosecuting, Philip Lee said Foster was "in a bad frame of mind" at the time of the incident, around 9pm.
Foster had spent the afternoon drinking, he said, much to his mother's upset.
Mr Lee said: "Witnesses could see (Ms Jones) shouting at him, at the back of the car.
"She called his friend to come out and help, who tried to unlock the bonnet and disable the engine, but couldn't.
"She began to walk towards the passenger side. As the car was still revving, it reversed. It shot backwards."
The court heard how Foster's friend frantically tried to use a jack and suspend the car, freeing Ms Jones, but she died from her injuries.
Foster was arrested and later gave a sample of breath which showed he was nearly twice the drink-drive limit.
The vehicle was not in a roadworthy condition, although there were no mechanical defects with the car, the court heard.
Piers Norsworthy, defending, said Foster and his mother loved each other very much, and that there was never any intention to harm her.
"At the time of the incident, this young man was in a very dark place," he said.
"No rational thought would have gone through his mind.
"He's a decent young man who's not always had the best of starts in his life, but he certainly loves his mother very dearly."
Mr Norsworthy told the judge: "The punishment your honour will impose will pale into insignificance compared with the mental damage this man will face and continue to face."
The judge described Foster's actions as "a momentary lapse", adding: "The words 'tragic' and 'tragedy' are often misused these days, but there is no doubt this was a tragic case with tragic consequences. Nothing I say or do can add to the sense of guilt you feel and always feel.
"This punishment represents a watershed in your life."
The judge said one-year driving bans for the offences of driving without a licence and driving without insurance would run concurrently with the four-year ban imposed for causing death by careless driving.
A tearful Foster, of Dobell Road in St Austell, blew a kiss to his family members in the public gallery as he was led from the dock.
