A DAD who killed his baby daughter and paralysed his son in a head-on road smash after taking cocaine the night before has been jailed for two years.

Jamie Nichols still had nearly three times the legal limit of cocaine in his blood when he got behind the wheel.

The 32-year-old lost control on a sweeping bend, spinning his Mazda into oncoming traffic as he drove with his partner and young family to visit his mother at around 4pm on January 10 this year.

He had taken cocaine the night before and also had cannabis in his system, a court heard.

Tests revealed Nichols had 144 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine, a product of cocaine, in his blood which contributed to the collision.

The level was described as being at the lower level and Nichols admitted taking the drug the night before the smash. The limit is 50 micrograms, the court heard.

His seven-month-old baby daughter Skye-Maria was dead on arrival at hospital in Worthing. Son Ryan, now aged seven, can only communicate by blinking and will need constant care for the rest of his life.

Nichols partner, Olga, cried out “Oh my God,” as he was jailed for two years at Hove Crown Court.

Her Honour Judge Shani Barnes told Nichols there was nobody else to blame for the death of his daughter. She described the case as tragic and told Nichols she had no choice but to send him to prison.

“Its your son that’s been so badly injured as well as losing your precious daughter. For the loss of baby Skye and the permanent injuries to Ryan, this has to be a prison sentence,” the judge told him.

Nichols, 32, from Harwood Close, Pulborough, fought back tears in the dock as the court heard his drug taking was a contributing factor in the head-on collision.

In a victim impact statement, the driver of the other car said the worst part was the silence from the two child seats in the aftermath.

Matthew North, 37, from Pulborough, was an innocent victim who was severly injured, the court heard.

He saw the Mazda 3 coming towards him as he drove his Vauxhall Corsa on Newpound Common Road, Wisborough Green.

Nichols’ Mazda also had under-inflated tyres on the front and back which would also have contributed to his fatal manoeuvre. His son’s car seat was also fitted incorrectly and the road was damp, the court heard. Other motorists tried to help after the smash which Nichols was able to walk away from.

Craig Evans for the Crown said: “Olga was in the front passenger seat. Skye-Maria was in a rear facing baby seat behind the passenger seat. Ryan was in a child seat behind the driver.

"Approaching a downhill sweeping bend with double white lines, the car went ballooning round the bend at too wide an angle. The rear wheel touched the grass verge. Mr Nichols swung to the right hand side as if to over-correct the manoeuvre.”

“The car came sideways to the opposite side of the road as he was trying to correct.” he was over steering to the oversteer. This was not the correct thing to do.”

The other driver involved who was also severely injured in the head-on collision which followed saw the Mazda lose control and come directly into his path, Mr Evans said.

“There was no way he could have avoided what happened next,” Mr Evans said.

“The Mazda rotated and jumped in the air and landed tilted on its side,” he said.

Matthew Hardyman, defending Nichols said: “He will be forever living with the guilt.”

Nichols pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs.

He will spend at least a year in prison before being released on licence. He suffered a brain injury and has no memory of the smash.

Investigating officer Tony Crisp, of the Sussex Police Serious Collision Investigations Unit, said: “This was the most tragic and traumatic of cases, affecting not only the lives of a close-knit family who have struggled to cope with the consequences of the crash, but also the innocent driver who was hit, and members of the public and the emergency services who stopped at the scene – many of whom were actively involved in giving emergency first aid.”