A driver under the influence of drink and drugs who killed a young woman travelling in a convertible car with three friends has been jailed for six years.

Ion Rusu, from Gillingham, had been drinking whiskey and smoking cannabis on a beach in Folkestone before he was spotted driving erratically on a motorway zig-zagging across all three lanes.

The 25-year-old Romanian’s Peugeot 206 hit Mohini Arora’s hired BMW 220D, leaving it upside down on the hard shoulder. Miss Arora, also 25, died at the scene from head and neck injuries.

A judge told Rusu, who was almost three times the legal alcohol driving limit: “It is clear the accident was caused by your intoxication through drink and drugs. It had catastrophic results.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard he callously drove off after the tragedy which happened at about 9.50pm on Sunday, November 13 last year on the M20 just after junction 11A for Folkestone.

Rusu, of College Avenue, Gillingham, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and drink-driving. He was disqualified for eight years.

Prosecutor Catherine Donnelly said the warehouse worker had about an hour earlier been seen by a couple in a car on the wrong side of the road near Maidstone services on the M20, heading towards Harrietsham.

They were so concerned his driving was dangerous they contacted the police.

After the Peugeot later hit the BMW, both cars left the carriageway. The BMW mounted the crash barrier and hit an electricity sub-station.

It came to rest upside down on the hard shoulder of the motorway. Rusu, from Moldova, and his passenger stopped and went towards the BMW.

But Rusu then returned to his car, leaving his passenger behind, an drove off. He stopped about a mile away and was arrested while walking up a slip road at junction 11.

When interviewed, he claimed he was not aware of any collision and said he stopped because his friend told him a car had overturned. He also falsely claimed his car had a defect in the steering.

Miss Arora, originally from India, studied at Regent’s University in London and was working for marketing firm AJG Direct in the capital. Her brother and a friend travelled from India for the sentencing hearing on Friday.

Judge Martin Joy said Rusu was “very much affected by drink and, no doubt, drugs”.

“Quite plainly, there was a prolonged period of dangerous driving and flagrant disregard for the rules of the road,” he said.

“Nobody saw the collision, but it is clear from the evidence you knew what you had done. You left the scene to avoid the police because of your intoxication.

“It involved the tragic death of Mohini Arora, who was driving in a perfectly safe manner. She was having a lovely day or evening a short while before.”

The judge added: “Nothing I can say unfortunately can make any difference to the fact that she died as a result of your criminal behaviour.

“There is no real mitigation in this case, apart from the fact you pleaded guilty.”

Daniel Stephenson, defending, said Rusu was able to drive properly because of the amount of alcohol he consumed.

He had come to the UK to support his family. His employer described him as honest, trustworthy and popular.

“He will be deported and have no other opportunity to work in the UK again,” he added.