Chilling CCTV captures driver entering petrol station before killing his 14 year-old son

Newly-released CCTV footage captures the chilling moment before a horror crash, where a cocaine-fuelled driver passed out and killed his 14-year-old son. Daniel Burba, 31, drove a Peugeot Bipper van in an 'erratic manner' before veering off the M6 southbound carriageway near Lancaster on April 20th and it hit a tree killing his passenger - his own son Ryan.

A judge said Ryan must have "died in terror" as forensics proved he desperately grabbed the steering wheel to control the car after his dad passed out from an epileptic fit that he had suffered before from repeated cocaine use. Paramedics at the horrific scene found cocaine in the car and toxicology tests proved Burba was four times over the legal limit for cocaine and its derivative benzoylecgonine. He also had traces of amphetamine in his system.

Now CCTV footage released by police shows Burba casually strolling into a petrol station while likely high on drugs, moments before the fatal motorway crash.

At Preston Crown Court on Tuesday Burba admitted causing death by dangerous driving, driving without a licence and without insurance and was jailed for 10 years and banned from the road for 14 years and five months.

Judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, told the court Burba's decision to drive had not been impulsive.

"You were uninsured. You shouldn't have been driving", he said, adding Burba would have known that taking cocaine would have made the decision to drive even more dangerous.

Judge Altham said Ryan "has been denied the vast majority of his life and he was by any measure a remarkable young boy".

Burba, from Morecambe, Lancashire, had an epileptic fit at the wheel of his wife's van when it swerved off the M6 near Lancaster in April.

The van mounted a grass embankment between junctions 34 and 33 and smashed into a tree, rolling over with devastating force.

Ryan was in the front passenger seat and Burba's van was seen swerving across lanes with hazard lights flashing, travelling well above the 70mph speed limit, before the fatal crash.

Investigators say Burba suffered an epileptic fit just before the collision - a condition he had been explicitly warned made him unfit to drive. This was "aggravated by his use of cocaine", police said.

The court heard Burba had been unconscious when Ryan tried to grab the wheel to take control of the vehicle before it crashed and Ryan died "in terror".

Paramedics found a small bag of the Class A drug as they treated Burba, who had previously had seizures because of his cocaine abuse.

Harrowing images have also been released showing the devastating aftermath of the motorway crash.

Lancashire Police say he should never have been behind the wheel. Burba only held a provisional driving licence, was not insured, and had recently been told not to drive due to his worsening cocaine-linked epilepsy.

Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene, with a post mortem revealing he died from head injuries. In a victim impact statement to the court, Ryan's mum said: "My heart is broken and I don't see it healing.

"I haven't grieved properly because I feel if I start to let myself go, I'll never stop, so even though I'm struggling daily, I'm also trying to be strong for my two daughters."

She continued: "I feel that no amount of time Daniel will serve will ever be enough for taking Ryan's life. Not only did he take my boy's life, he took my boy's future.

"My boy will never grow and be a father, go to work and follow his dreams or travel. He didn't even get to finish school.

"He hasn't ever had a chance to experience life. It's so unfair because Ryan did have a beautiful heart. He wanted to be a policeman.

"He would have changed the world. He made it a better place in the short time he was here. He made everyone smile who came into contact with him. He had a smile that lit up the room.

"Daniel has taken all that and more. Daniel has taken a precious son, brother, grandson, nephew, friend and cousin. He had so much to live for.

"The fact that Daniel knew he wasn't allowed to drive due to his seizures, plus a lack of licence and insurance is just disgusting."

Burba was taken to hospital following the crash and arrested a week later after being discharged.

Sgt Martin Wilcock, of Lancashire Police, said: "No sentence will ever make up for any loss of life, particularly in these tragic circumstances.

"However, Daniel Burba will have the rest of his life to reflect upon the catastrophic consequences his decision to consume drugs and then get behind the wheel have had. Sadly, his son will not.

"I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message out to anyone who is considering driving, having been told by a doctor not to. Or anyone who is considering driving, having consumed drugs or alcohol.

"As is so very obvious from this case, you run the risk of taking a life but also ruining many others - including your own."

He added: "This was a major incident that resulted in the closure of the motorway for a significant period of time.

"We know there was some frustration at the time, but we hope the public understand that the carriageway needed to be closed to facilitate the investigation work that resulted in this conviction and significant sentence."