Stop the Speeders: Daughter brands callous killer's sentence 'an insult' after death of father
‘It felt like an insult, a smack in the face – he killed my dad’.
The heartbroken daughter of a retired builder knocked down and left for dead by a speeding driver has called for a tougher punishment of his killer.
Tracey Webster watched as Craig Edwards was sentenced to seven years in prison at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Edwards, who will serve half of his sentence behind bars, was driving a BMW when he lost control and hit great grandfather John Hickinbottom in Bentley. The 29-year-old then fled the scene.
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Meanwhile the family of popular Mr Hickinbottom, aged 74, had to face the tragic consequences. Mrs Webster and her husband Adrian had just arrived in Benidorm for a holiday when they heard the news.
They flew straight home to the bedside of the retired builder at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
But Mr Hickinbottom, who suffered multiple injuries and a bleed to the brain, died two days after the crash in Bentley Road North in Walsall.
Speaking following the sentencing of Edwards, Mrs Webster said she wished the sentence had been longer for him to reflect the impact of his crime.
She said: “When the judge read out the sentence it felt like an insult, a smack in the face. That man killed my dad.
“He put the family through so much pain, we had to wait three months for tests to be done before we could even bury him.
“We will be heartbroken for the rest of our lives, and he will still be breathing.”
Kind and gentle man
She added: “His death is just one of the worst things to ever happen.
“It is so painful. I know none of this will bring him back, but we should never have been here in the first place.”
Mr Hickinbottom was a respected member of the community. On the day he was hit he was on his way to meet friends at the Nags Head in Darlaston.
Following his death flowers were spread over the spot he was hit, next to a roundabout for a Premier Inn.
“He has six children and 12 grandchildren and six great grandchildren who love and miss him everyday.
Mrs Webster, aged 47, said: “My father was very well known, he was a kind and gentle man who would do anything for anyone.
He was very well known everywhere and everyone loved and respected him.
“He had alot of friends and his death has impacted alot of people, not just his family.”
At his funeral at St Peter’s Church in Walsall there were more than 200 people in attendance.
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