Family attack 18-month sentence for son's road death

Driver Brett Kingsley knocked down and killed student Adam O'Toole as he crossed New Hey Road, Huddersfield, in March 2007.

He drove off and made a false insurance claim for damage to the car.

Kingsley told no-one about what happened and was only brought to justice after a tip-off to police three years later. He broke down and confessed all when police knocked on his door in Oldham.

Prosecutors found no evidence that Kingsley was driving dangerously and so could not charge him with causing death by dangerous driving. He also did not face a charge of causing death by careless driving as the charge was not available then.

Instead, Kingsley was charged with perverting the course of justice because he had lied to police and insurers about the cause of the damage to his mother's Rover 200.

Jailing Kingsley for 18 months, Judge Alistair McCallum told him he could not sentence him for causing Adam's death but that perverting the course of justice was a serious charge.

He said: "Callously you didn't even stop but made off immediately and thereafter began a series of lies that went on for a long time."

Kingsley, who told police that Adam had stepped into the road, said he panicked and drove home after the crash.

His lawyer Christopher Tehrani said Kingsley was a young man at the time of the accident and had been deeply affected by it, dropping out of three university courses and carrying "his secret" for three years.

Speaking outside court, family friend Catherine Perry said Adam's parents Beverley and John had struggled to understand the justice system.

She said: "Last Sunday should have been Adam's 22nd birthday. There were no cards, no celebrations. Today should have brought us some closure but we feel no peace.

"For the driver to only face the charge of perverting the course of justice does not feel like justice for Adam, our son."

Kingsley, 25, who had no previous convictions and recently became a father, was also given a four-year driving ban.