A non-resident Indian driver, who sped off after knocking down a medical student on a pedestrian crossing in the central English city of Birmingham, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
45-year-old Jaswinder Lakhwinder Singh, an uninsured driver, admitted causing the death of 20-year-old Abigail Craen by dangerous driving on October 30 last.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Pearce-Higgins QC at Birmingham Crown Court said the incident had caused great sadness for all concerned, but added that Singh had shown remorse and guilt, and was not a callous man. He said if the defendant had been driving at the appropriate speed, the incident would not have happened.
"You are clearly a man of good character with only one previous incident of driving with excessive alcohol and I have taken into account that you surrendered and made full submittal of guilt," he told Singh.
Singh wept as the sentence was read out. He admitted failing to report the accident and driving without insurance.
Singh, who hit Craen so hard that he knocked her about 30 metres, gave himself up to police when Craen's mother allowed newspapers to publish photographs of her daughter in hospital. During a court hearing in January, Singh broke down as he said he had panicked after hitting the student because he was uninsured and had not been wearing the spectacles he needed.
Singh, a father of two, had only been driving for a month following a 12-month ban for drinking driving. He will not be allowed to drive now until 2010.
According to Prosecutor Amjad Nawaz, witnesses reported a loud bang when Craen was hit by Singh's car, which was estimated to be traveling at 40mph in a 30mph zone. "Abigail's body was seen to be thrown into the air and catapulted. The body of Abigail was found 30 metres away from the crossing."
Craen, a fluent French speaker who wanted to work for the medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers, was struck by Singh's Ford Mondeo as she crossed the road outside her residence in Edgbaston. She was five weeks into her first term at the Birmingham University.
She suffered massive brain injuries and her family decided to turn off the life support machine the day after the accident. According to her wishes, Craen's liver and a kidney were used in transplant operations. Craen's mother Susan, 47, spoke out against the sentence, saying, "Abigail was murdered on October 30 last year."
She said, "The man who killed her left her dying on the edge of the road. He did not brake or stop and did not come forward for eight days. Abigail was a wonderful, talented and beautiful girl whose life was full of laughter. The sentence is an insult to her. She is dead and the man who killed her has a small interruption in his life. This is no deterrent or punishment."
Singh has already served five months of his jail term and police said he could be out within four months. The judgement was also criticised by police and road safety protesters. Sally Holmes of West Midlands Police said. "We are disappointed with the sentence on behalf of the family. Eighteen months is no reflection for this loss of life."
The Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents said it was 'shocked' at the leniency of the sentence.
