St Leonards man jailed after fatal crash on the A27 at Pevensey

Terry Lee Majors reached high speeds as he drove on the A27 at Pevensey when his Ford Fiesta veered off the road into trees.

The impact caused the death of his passenger, Cheryl Brookes, aged 35, from Bexhill.

Majors appeared before Lewes Crown Court and has been jailed for causing death by dangerous driving over the incident in July 2021.

The court was told how Majors and Cheryl, a mother-of-two and a grandmother, had gone for a night away at a hotel in Brighton.

Cheryl Brookes died in the crash on the A27 at Pevensey (Image: Sussex Police)

He lost his temper after he saw another man look at her Instagram.

Majors, of Marina, St Leonards, drove them back towards St Leonards, and was heard abusing her as she made a mobile phone call to relatives.

She said: “He’s driving like a lunatic. He is doing 100mph and is scaring me.”

In text messages to a friend she described how Majors had become “jealous” and “paranoid” before he left Brighton in a rage.

• Read more: 'Heartbroken' - tributes to 'loving' mother of two who died after car flipped on A27

Majors, 40, appeared to try and attempt to overtake a vehicle, lost control, and crashed into trees on the A27 Pevensey bypass near the Hankham Hall Road bridge over the carriageway.

Cheryl was declared dead at the scene.

In statements at the time her family said Cheryl was a “kind-hearted, caring and loving person, always there for people and always putting others before herself”.

Witnesses described Majors’ erratic and dangerous driving between leaving the hotel and the collision. It included overtaking and undertaking other vehicles at high speed.

He was injured and taken to hospital, where a blood test showed he was over the limit for cannabis.

The scene of the crash on the A27 at Pevensey (Image: Sussex Police)

At Lewes Crown Court on April 19 he admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

Majors was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison and was disqualified from driving for five and a half years.

In a victim personal statement, Cheryl’s brother William Brookes, 38, of Eastbourne, thanked the emergency services who responded to the incident.

He said: “Cheryl was the life and soul of every party, she was the glue that held us all together. Her children are devastated and her grandchildren will grow up without knowing their grandmother.”

Speaking after the case, PC Dave Symonds from the serious collision investigation unit said: “It is never just a crash, especially for those left picking up the pieces.

“Majors has caused the events that led to the death of Cheryl Brookes, which could have been easily avoided.

Terry Lee Majors (Image: Sussex Police)

“This case shows the dangers of driving while over the prescribed limit for drugs, and highlights the responsibility of drivers to drive safely, in order to protect other road users, themselves and their passengers.

“The family of Cheryl will carry their loss forever."