BMW driver Minesh Parbat sentenced to seven years for 'sex act' death crash

A Crawley man who crashed his car, killing his girlfriend as she straddled him to take part in a sex act, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for causing her death. Minesh Parbat, 36, was over the drink-drive limit when he crashed his BMW at nearly 70mph on the A2011 in West Sussex, on 9 March 2014, veering into the central reservation before crashing into a fence. The force of the crash threw his girlfriend, Lisa Watling, 28, from the car. She died later in hospital from her injuries.

After the crash, Watling was found in the road wearing just a bra and t-shirt, and Parbat was found in the wreckage with his trousers and underpants round his ankles. Partbat's blood test showed 102 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The UK's drink-drive limit is currently 80 milligrams.

Parbat denied causing her death, telling jurors that he dropped his trousers as part of a "cheeky little dare" with Ms Watling, a mother of two. During his trial in July, Parbat claimed that Watling told him she was feeling "horny" and sat on the dashboard before moving in front of him and obscuring his view. He denied anything sexual had taken place, saying: "It's got sexual tones, but it wasn't sexual because nothing happened."

However the jury did not believe Parbat's story and he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Jailing him, Recorder Peter Griffiths QC said: Parbat was "entirely" responsible for causing the crash "while engaged in some form of sexual activity". He said: "I'm satisfied that the cause of the accident in which Lisa died was your decision to continue to drive your motor vehicle at a speed approaching but not exceeding 70mph while engaged in some form of sexual activity with your trousers partially down. I make it clear that the blame for this tragic accident is entirely yours."

In a statement, Ms Watling's family said: "Our lives have been ripped apart, leaving a wound that will never fully heal. However, the two real victims are Lisa's children. They will never have that soft comforting voice they know and love whisper goodnight, safe in the knowledge that when they wake up in the morning she'll be there to greet them. As a family we feel relief that some kind of justice has been seen. It feels like a very small step towards gaining a degree of closure."