A DRUG driver who killed his passenger before fleeing the scene could have his prison sentence extended.

Luke Bates, 34, was driving under the influence of cannabis when he veered off Mountbatten Way and crashed his BMW into bushes.

The impact killed his passenger - mother of three Kim Bainbridge, 51, of Buckthorn Close, Totton.

However, he climbed over her lifeless body and scrambled out of the badly-damaged vehicle he had recently bought, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Bates, of Mansergh Walk, Totton was jailed for six years and banned from driving for seven years.

But now his sentence could potentially be extended on the belief that it was “unduly lenient”.

A request has been made to the Attorney General’s Office for his sentence to be reviewed under the unduly lenient sentence system.

This applies to crown court sentences for a selection of serious crimes.

Once Bates’ case has been reviewed it could be sent to the Court of Appeal.

If this happens, a decision will be made whether his sentence should stay the same, is unreasonably low and should be increased.

Alternatively, the court may refuse to hear the case.

A conclusion on whether the case should go to the Court of Appeal must take place within 28 days of sentencing, meaning staff in the Attorney General’s Office must complete this process by April 3.

During his sentencing, prosecution barrister Archie Mackay, told how Bates was found hiding in his mother’s loft after the accident and that he explicitly blamed Kimberley Bainbridge for her own death.

The accident happened at the junction of West Quay Road and Mountbatten Way, Southampton, on June 30, 2019.

Judge Christopher Parker QC told the defendant: “Through your speed, folly and taking of drugs you killed her, shattering her family and badly damaging your own.”

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “We have received a request for the sentence of Luke Andrew Bates to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

“The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”