Son hits out at 'joke' jail sentence for hit-and-run motorist
A son has slammed as 'a joke' the six-month jail sentence handed to the hit-and-run driver who mowed down has mother as she went to buy a newspaper.
Ian Mancor has also told of the devastating effect on his own life that losing his mother, 79-year-old Brenda Davies, has had, a bereavement exacerbated by a drawn-out court case.
Mrs Davies was mown down on December 3, 2012, as she crossed Western Springs Road in Rugeley at a lights controlled junction at 7.30am. School caretaker Richard Thompson fled from the scene in his BMW.
His victim suffered catastrophic injuries, including a fractured skull, smashed ribs and had to have a leg amputated. She died in hospital at Cannock almost two months later.
Mr Mancor, who was at Stafford Crown Court on Friday for the sentencing, is writing to his MP Jeremy Lefroy in a bid to get the sentencing rules in cases of causing death by careless driving tightened up.
The 59-year-old retired social worker, of Greensome Crescent, Stafford, described Thompson's six-month prison sentence and two-year driving ban as 'a joke.'
He said: "I was appalled. I was expecting a much longer sentence. The man drove off and then lied about what he'd done.
"After being charged, he withdrew his original guilty plea to the most serious charge to not guilty, with the result that the court case dragged on for another year."
Mr Mancor, who worked in Wolverhampton, said the strain took its toll on his own health.
"I had to go off with stress for four months. I went back to work afterwards but I just couldn't concentrate and went off again on long-term leave. I then took voluntary redundancy.
"I could have come to terms with losing my mother but the court case on top of that, the way he vacated his initial guilty plea, was too much."
Before the trial was due to be heard Thompson, aged 32, of Shaftesbury Road, Rugeley changed his plea again and admitted causing Mrs Davies's death by careless driving. He also pleaded guilty to failing to stop and failing to report an accident.
Mr Mancor, an only son, said his mother, who was widowed twice, had been a bright and active woman.
She was a member of Gymophobics in Rugeley and walked a mile and a quarter every day.
He said: "We would meet up in Stafford for a coffee and a panini and she would catch the bus in. She was also a keen gardener and enjoyed doing cryptic crosswords. It was harrowing to see her deteriorate in hospital. Had she lived, she would have needed 24-hour care. It was heart-rending."
