Birmingham woman locked up for 14 years over manslaughter of motorcyclist

Kerry Fair had struck the bike Thomas Maguire was on using a car whilst he was travelling along Kings Road, Kingstanding, on May 18 last year.

The defendant had chased after the 30-year-old after being told that he had taken the motorbike from her daughter's boyfriend's address hours earlier.

Moments before hitting the motorcycle, she was captured driving a Ford Focus speeds of between 76 and 86 mph in a 30mph speed zone as she pursued the victim.

He was knocked off the bike and the 39-year-old immediately fled the scene, leaving him serious injured. She abandoned the Focus on the side of the road where we later discovered it with a steering lock on and the engine still running.

Thomas was taken to hospital by his friends where he remained in a critical condition for three weeks. He passed away on June 9 as a result of his injuries. Fair’s wallet was found in the front door pocket and following further enquiries, she was arrested shortly after the collision.

The 39-year-old of Parkeston Crescent, Kingstanding was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on March 7 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter on March 14.

The family of the motorcyclist said: “Thomas is our first thought in the morning and our last at night, he is loved and missed by each and every one of us. There isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t miss him. No one will ever replace him.

"We miss his crazy ways, the laughs and our mad chats and us having to tell him off. We talk about him every day and as the younger children get older they will always know how proud Thomas was of them and that they bought out the softer side of him. He looked after his mom and all of his family and now we will look after her, hopefully we can do him proud.

"With the guilty verdict for manslaughter and the 14-year sentence, he gets some justice, rest peacefully Thomas."

Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, from homicide team, said: "At the speed she was travelling, at the very least she was reckless to the fact Thomas would be injured as a result of her actions that night.

"Had Fair applied emergency braking when she realised she was gaining rapidly on the motorbike, the collision could have been completely avoided, which inevitably could have prevented Thomas from being injured.

"Our thoughts remain with the family of Thomas and I hope (the) sentence can bring them some closure."