Family of young woman killed in crash ask judge not to jail her boyfriend for careless driving
The family of a young woman who died after her boyfriend had a "momentary lapse of concentration" before a crash made a plea to a judge not to send him to prison.
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The crash on the A41 at Prees Higher Heath, near Whitchurch, on October 12, 2023 led to the death of 27-year-old Laura Carrillo, who fell off Jake Barton's KTM RC 390 motorcycle and into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
Madrid-born Ms Carrillo, who died at the scene, was described in family victim impact statements as a sporty, ice hockey-playing biology student who enjoyed life to the full. She had been living in the UK since 2017.
Ms Carrillo's brother Jaime Carrillo sent victim impact statements to District Judge Ian Barnes who was sentencing Barton at Telford Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Barton, aged 24 and of Oxford Gardens, Stafford, had pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
"We do not want Jake to go to prison, we do not believe it would in any way help or relieve the pain," said the statement read out by prosecutor Sara Beddow.
Mr Carrillo said that the Carrillo-Sanchez family "did not perceive Jake as a criminal" and felt that he had been "punished enough" by her death.
"He loved my sister," he added.
"There is no greater punishment than watching my sister die."
He added that the death of his sister had "destroyed our lives". Their parents have undergone counselling and her 85-year-old grandmother is "not able to overcome her absence".
