Driver who killed wife in head-on crash because he was running late is jailed
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New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
I delivered my grandson in the back of my daughter's car — but then something unexpected happened
A proud grandma says she is 'thrilled' after helping deliver her daughter's baby in the backseat of her car — and also saving his life. Sonja Cook, 46, was letting Shelby and her partner Ryan Butler, 32, and three other children into her house when she heard her daughter shout 'it's coming' from the back seat of their red Vauxhall Zafira. The couple decided to drop their kids off at Cook's home in Grimethorpe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire in the UK, before driving to Barnsley Hospital where Shelby planned to give birth. 9 Sonja Cook, right, helped deliver her daughter, Shelby Burnett's baby, Mason James Butler, in the back of a car. Charley Atkins / SWNS After finding Shelby laying on the back seat, she dialed 999 (UK version of 911) and requested an ambulance. Before it arrived, Cook was able to successfully deliver her daughter's baby boy — which she has since named Mason. But it wasn't all smooth sailing as after Mason was delivered. He wasn't breathing and had turned blue, as he had been born 'en caul' with his mother's amniotic sac — also known as the 'water sac' — covering his face. But it was Cook's quick thinking that saved Mason's life after she removed it and made sure he was breathing. 9 Cook was able to successfully deliver her daughter's baby after finding Shelby laying on the back seat of the car. Brannan Cook / SWNS Cook said: 'The whole time I was telling myself this is not happening. 'I had watched TV programs before where stuff like this goes on but I couldn't believe it was happening to me. 'Delivering Mason was terrifying as his life was in my hands, and of course I wanted to make sure he was okay. 9 'I had watched TV programs before where stuff like goes on but I couldn't believe it was happening to me,' Cook said. Brannan Cook / SWNS 'After I saw his head he just flew out, he didn't want to be inside any longer. 'Mason is doing absolutely amazing, he is such a lovely baby.' Mom Shelby said: 'It was quite scary, but it all happened quite fast. 'I was scared when I couldn't hear him cry, and that's what you want to hear. 9 'It was quite scary, but it all happened quite fast,' Shelby said about her son's birth. Brannan Cook / SWNS 'I'm thankful that my mom did what she did to save Mason's life. 'I've now got two boys and two girls, but this was the craziest birth. 'But he's doing really well now. 'He's been brilliant.' Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Shelby was one week overdue when she arrived flustered at her mom's house on Tuesday, August 6. Cook, a manager at TY Caravans LTD, explained how Shelby had spent the previous day (August 5) in Barnsley Hospital after having contractions, but returned home after being told she would have to wait for a labor bed. But the nanny has revealed how at 4:22 a.m. the next day she received a call from her daughter saying she was having stomach pain, and that she thought the baby is coming. Cook told her to drive over to her house — where she lives with her husband Brannan Cook, 41, and drop off her three other children, Sophie, 9, Lexi, 8, and Noah, 4, before heading to the hospital. 9 Shelby said she is thankful for her mom's actions during the birth. Charley Atkins / SWNS 9 Charley Atkins / SWNS But just minutes after she arrived at 4:39 a.m., Cook found herself having to deliver the baby on her own. She said: 'At 4:22 am she rang me sounding quite distressed and in pain. 'So I just said to get the kids out of the way and bring them over to me, and me and my husband will look after them. 'She was worried she wouldn't be accepted into hospital because her contractions weren't every three minutes but I just said go, just in case there are any complications. 9 'I called an ambulance and they talked me through what to do,' Cook said. Charley Atkins / SWNS 'When they arrived, Ryan and I got the kids out of the back seats and I heard him say, 'It's coming' and she was trying to push, but her water hadn't broken.' Cook said she saw her get out of the front seat and lie down in the back. The nanny said: 'She got out and said 'move the kids' car seat' and laid on the backseat. 'I turned the back lights of the car on and my husband attached a flashlight to the door. 'I called an ambulance and they talked me through what to do. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! 'They asked me if I could see the baby's head and I couldn't, but as soon as I looked back Shelby screamed the 'baby's coming' and his head popped out. 'He then literally flew out into my arms — and I couldn't believe what had just happened.' But Cook's delight was quashed when the ambulance asked if baby was crying — and that's when she realized something was wrong. She said: 'The men were running around to get towels and blankets to keep the baby warm. 9 'He began turning bluey green, and I was panicking, but that's when I felt a thin sack over his face which I pulled off and sure enough he started having a little crying,' Cook said. Brannan Cook / SWNS 'That's when I noticed he wasn't crying. 'I began patting his back and rubbing his airways but still nothing. 'He began turning bluey green, and I was panicking, but that's when I felt a thin sack over his face which I pulled off and sure enough he started having a little crying. 'He turned that color as it was a cold morning. 'It was dark in the back of the car so I couldn't see it at first. 'But it was a huge relief.' Mason's birth is known as an 'en caul birth' where the amniotic sac, or caul, covering his face meaning he couldn't breathe. The sac normally breaks during labor — when the 'water breaks' — but can remain unbroken with the baby still inside, according to the NHS. 9 Mason's birth is known as an 'en caul birth' where the amniotic sac, or caul, covering his face, prevented him from breathing. Charley Atkins / SWNS At around 5:15 a.m., the ambulance then arrived and swiftly took Shelby, Cook, and little Mason to Barnsley Hospital where they performed check-ups. He weighed eight pounds and five ounces. Whilst at the hospital she dressed Mason before returning home at 11:30 a.m. Cook said: 'I've been there for each of my grandchildren's births. 'But to actually deliver your final grandson was terrifying.' 'Mason's really content, he's a good healthy baby, and now we have a good story to tell him when he is older.'
ITV News
26-06-2025
- ITV News
Driver running late for work killed wife in A16 crash
A driver who killed his wife in a crash after running late for work has been jailed. Asen Kurtev had 39-year-old Sofka Mitkova and three other colleagues in his Vauxhall Zafira when he caused a head-on collision on the A16 near Spalding, Lincolnshire, on 4 March last year. His wife, who was the front seat passenger, suffered fatal injuries. The other passengers were seriously injured, along with the driver of the other car, a Volkswagen Scirocco. Kurtev, 46, of Carlton Road, Boston, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 10 years and nine months. Lincoln Crown Court heard he had already overtaken other vehicles before he attempted an overtaking manoeuvre when the crash happened at about 6.50am. Witnesses said he had been driving erratically in heavy traffic. Kurtev told police he had been in a rush as he and his passengers were late for work. Det Sgt Adam Doona, of Lincolnshire Police, said: 'Kurtev's lateness for work led to him driving dangerously, carrying out inappropriate overtakes with a reckless regard for the safety of other road users. "As a result, his wife paid the ultimate price and four other individuals sustained serious injuries which required extensive ongoing treatment. 'Whilst no-one wants to be late, it is better to arrive late, than not at all. The selfish actions and utter disregard for others that Kurtev displayed have rightly attracted a substantial sentence from the court.' Kurtev was also banned from driving for 12 years two months.
Rhyl Journal
26-06-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Driver who killed wife in head-on crash because he was running late is jailed
Asen Kurtev carried out 'an obviously highly dangerous' overtake on the A16 outside Boston in Lincolnshire, as he was driving colleagues to work on the morning of March 4 last year. He collided with an oncoming vehicle, causing his wife, Sofka Mitkova, 39, fatal chest injuries. He was jailed at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday for 10 years and nine months, for causing death by dangerous driving, with concurrent sentences of 36 months for three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to three backseat passengers in his Vauxhall Zafira, and 27 months concurrent for causing serious injury to the driver of the oncoming vehicle he crashed into. Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight KC told Kurtev, 46, that the loss of his wife is a 'pain and punishment you will carry forever'. The court heard husband and wife passengers Kiril Ribarov and Gayla Ribarova, who were in the back of Kurtev's car alongside Dimitar Dimitrov, told the defendant to slow down as he overtook multiple vehicles while driving them to work at JZ Flowers at about 6.50am. Prosecution counsel Tony Stanford said it was Kurtev's job to pick up workers and drive to them to the factory for the 7am shift, but he was 25 minutes late collecting them, and Mr Ribarov told police it was clear he was 'trying to catch up on his lateness'. He described Kurtev's behaviour, including overtaking a line of four or five cars on the A16, in a manoeuvre lasting around 15 seconds on the busy road, as 'suicide, kamikaze driving'. Judge Sjolin Knight said that, like many Lincolnshire A-roads, the A16 was flat and straight with good visibility, and that the conditions were 'not such that there was any point in overtaking as there was a line of traffic'. Kurtev's car was 'wholly in the other carriageway' when he crashed head on into a Volkswagen Scirocco being driven by Cameron Marshall, who was left with fractures to his lower spine and wrist, and damage to his spleen and upper bowel, and required surgery to his abdomen and his forearm, which needed to be realigned. In a victim impact statement, Mr Marshall, who was 22 at the time and a professional HGV driver, said the crash was 'never something I ever thought I would experience', and the effect his injuries have had on his family has been 'truly heartbreaking'. All three of Kurtev's passengers, none of whom were wearing a seat belt because they reportedly did not work, were seriously injured, and Mr Ribarov said he and his wife have had to return to Bulgaria. He said the crash, which left him with a fractured eye socket, cheekbone, kneecap and wrist, had caused 'horrendous stress', adding: 'We were in a foreign country with no income and no support. 'When this happened, we came to England to work, but had to return to Bulgaria because we couldn't work. Everything in Bulgaria is so expensive, I can't support my family.' Representing Kurtev, who pleaded guilty to the offences on Monday, which was due to be the first day of his trial, John McNally said he never would have carried out the overtake if he had seen Mr Marshall's car coming towards him. He said: 'He is truly sorry for what happened, he never meant for it to happen. 'He realises the failings were his and he regrets what has been caused to everybody and knows it is a daily reminder, from the destruction of his family life, of what he did. 'It will weigh heavily on him. 'In custody he will be largely alone as a man with limited skills and limited language.' Addressing Kurtev, of Carlton Road in Boston, who listened to proceedings via a Bulgarian interpreter, Judge Sjolin Knight said: 'The small car coming towards you was driven by 22-year-old Cameron Marshall, a professional HGV driver. 'The drivers of the three cars behind yours saw his car, you should have seen it too, particularly as you were the one pulling out to drive on his side of the road. 'Whether you saw it and thought you could get back in before he reached you, or you didn't see it, I cannot determine. 'The traffic conditions were not such that there was any point in overtaking, there was a line of traffic. 'The amount of traffic meant this was a manoeuvre you never should have attempted because there was no safe way back into the line of traffic. 'Witnesses inside and outside the car described it as suicidal, kamikaze and crazy. It is not a safe manoeuvre that went wrong.' She added: 'You were the one who had embarked on an obviously highly dangerous manoeuvre and the result was a head-on collision. 'The results of that head-on collision have been catastrophic.' The judge said Kurtev may face being automatically deported after his sentence, of which he must serve two-thirds, and was banned from driving for five years upon his release.
