A DRIVER who killed a talented and popular musician when his car ploughed into a pub’s smoking area was caught driving without a licence or insurance while awaiting his court appearance.

Bandile Xozumti, 41, killed one person and seriously injured three others when the car he was driving left the road and smashed into the Spinnaker pub, in Colchester, in November 2019.

Stuart McClung, 36, lost his life in the crash, which remains unexplained.

Xozumti, of Waterside Lane, Colchester, admitted causing death by careless driving in May.

He said he had blacked out before the crash.

But at his sentencing hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court, no medical evidence was produced to support his claim.

In an interview with the probation service following his arrest and charge, he said he had drunk one or two glasses of wine.

A blood sample was taken from him at the hospital five hours after the fatal collision which showed a low blood alcohol concentration.

The court heard Xozumti is a Type 1 diabetic and dependent on insulin, but there was no evidence to suggest he was suffering from any problems arising from his condition.

Crash reconstruction experts determined he was travelling at a speed between 37mph and 43mph, over the 30mph speed limit.

Xozumti was sentenced to a year behind bars and banned from the roads for two years.

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While inquiries were still being made about the fatal crash, and after Xozumti’s licence had been medically revoked, he was caught driving by the police.

He first appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court over the pub crash in January.

In March, he was caught behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta in Avon Way, Greenstead, Colchester, without valid insurance or a licence.

In May, he admitted a charge of causing death by careless driving and he was sentenced in June.

At Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on July 23, Xozumti was fined £660 and received six penalty points after he was convicted of driving without a licence or insurance.

During sentencing after the fatal pub crash, Judge Timothy Walker said: “Stuart McClung was plainly a very loved and well-liked person, he was described as having been a fun, loving individual, a joker and the life and soul of the party.”