Leeds Knights: Drunk van driver who killed mother of professional ice hockey player as she left son's match is jailed

Vanessa Barnes, 59, had just left Planet Ice on Elland Road after watching her son Adam play for the professional ice hockey team when she was struck by Jason Ward’s speeding Ford Transit.

She was walking along the pavement at 7.30pm on December 10 last year when the collision happened. Ward left his van before moving the vehicle and then running away. Mrs Barnes, from Rossendale in Lancashire, died at the scene.

Ward, 52, of nearby Middleton, was arrested the next day. Enquiries showed he had spent the three hours prior to the collision in the Morley area drinking nearly six pints of lager before getting behind the wheel.

He was charged and pleaded guilty at court to causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

Today, he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to eight years and four months in prison. He received a driving ban for a total of 11 and a half years.

Adam Barnes said: “Vanessa Barnes was my mum. An extraordinary person who treated everyone with love and kindness. She was also a wife, a daughter, a sister, a carer, and a dear friend to so many. A beautiful, selfless, amazing human being, who was brutally taken from us by the irresponsible actions of a drunk driver.

“On the night of the 10 December, I was playing ice hockey for Leeds Knights, a team I’d been a part of for three years. My mum and dad had worked immensely hard and made so many sacrifices to enable me to play hockey at National League level.

“My mum came to every game and never missed an opportunity to tell me how proud she was. She would stand, week on week, with my grandma, on the same bench jumping and screaming with excitement. With her outgoing personality and infectious laugh, she was well known in the rink by everyone and had made many special friends within the ice hockey community over the years.

“Every week after each game my mum would always wait outside the changing rooms for me. When I came out, she would squeeze me so hard, chatting and laughing before we said our goodbyes. Little did I know that that night would be our final goodbye before she was brutally killed by a coward who left her in the road to die with no care or compassion.

“No words will ever be able to pay tribute to how special my mum was. She was always happy, the most selfless, loving person I will ever know. She lit up every room with her vibrant personality and infectious laugh. She was loved by everyone and will be missed every single day. A sentence will be served but I believe there is no limit to the never-ending suffering and grief we now feel as a family.”

Detective Constable Mark Turner of West Yorkshire Police said: “Ward has done everything possible to avoid accepting responsibility for his actions on that evening. Despite drinking and clearly being over the drink drive limit, he got behind the wheel of his van without any consideration for other road users or pedestrians.

“After colliding with Vanessa, he continued to think only of himself, making off from the scene to avoid the police.

“He didn’t enter a plea until the last minute, which I am sure has extended the suffering endured by Vanessa’s family. My thoughts, and those of all the officers who dealt with this terrible incident, are with the family at this time.”

Adam Barnes, 24, played youth ice hockey for Bradford Bulldogs. He was part of the original Leeds Chiefs team who first brought professional ice hockey to the city's newly-built rink in 2019, and after the franchise became the Knights, helped the team win a National League title. He announced in May he was leaving to join Blackburn Hawks for personal reasons.