Pensioner in death crash is spared jail

Charles Farrar drove through a red light in his silver Rover 25 and collided with a works van driven by 50-year-old Adrian Keating.

The impact caused the van to crash into metal railings trapping Mr Keating who died from multiple injuries, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Farrar had undergone cataract operations on both eyes a few months before the incident but had been given the all-clear to get behind the wheel.

He admitted causing death by careless driving and driving without a licence which had expired.

Jim Baird, prosecuting, said Farrar did not see the Renault van as he drove along Brightside Lane, Sheffield, with his wife on March 20 last year.

Mr Keating had his daughter in the van and the accident was tragically also seen by his own brother.

Farrar was seen to drive through a red light and did not slow down or speed up. “It was as if the driver hadn’t seen the van,” said Mr Baird.

A passing doctor tried to revive the victim but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Farrar, of Ranulf Court, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, told police he was braking to stop then the lights changed to green and immediately to amber.

By that stage he was in the junction and he did not see the van until it was directly in front of his vehicle. “He was unable to brake prior to the collision,” said Mr Baird.

The traffic lights were later examined and found to be working correctly. No mechanical defects were found on either vehicle.

Mr Keating’s family said his death was a “huge loss” and his daughter Hayley is still undergoing treatment for the injuries she suffered in the crash.

The court heard Farrar had forgotten to renew his licence as his wife underwent treatment for possible cancer.

Kevin Jones, mitigating, said it was a “dreadfully tragic situation” but the pensioner had already surrendered his driving licence and did not intend to drive again.

“It was clearly a lapse of concentration resulting in the tragic circumstances,” he said.

Judge Paul Watson told Farrar that sentencing him was not an easy exercise as he had to balance imposing punishment for his bad driving with the need to do justice to reflect his blemish-free, hard-working life.

The judge said: “This was a bad piece of driving. This wasn’t a case of momentary inattention. Driving such as it was can only be met by the imposition of a custodial sentence.”

But the judge said he was suspending the nine-month jail term for 12 months for what he called a “tragic loss of life”.

He told the pensioner: “The fact is that at 87 you have never been in trouble for anything, you have worked through your life. It was a productive and positive and blameless life. It seems to me that in those circumstances the right thing to do is to suspend the sentence for 12 months.”

Farrar was also banned from driving for five years and told he would have to retake the driving test if he wanted to drive again although the judge told him: “I would be extremely surprised were you ever to do so.”

Members of Mr Keating’s family declined to formally comment after the hearing although one said of the sentence: “It’s disgusting.”