Sobbing driver locked up over fatal hit-and-run

John Smith, 18, sobbed at York Crown Court yesterday as he was

sentenced to 30 months in a young offenders' institution for causing the death by careless driving of Sean Hamilton.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, condemned Smith's "irresponsible" behaviour in speeding along the 30mph-limit city road where the youngster was killed last October. The judge said Smith – a convicted robber and burglar – had then shown "neither the maturity, the courage nor the decency" to try to help Sean after the collision.

The court was told Smith was driving at 47mph along the 30-limit

Holgate Road in York when the accident occurred. A witness

said "thumping" music was coming from the Ford Transit van as it sped down the built-up road.

Sean, described as a "lively and engaging" youngster, was walking home to Acomb from a trip to the cinema with his 12-year-old sister and two friends. He appeared to stumble as he crossed the road and was hit by Smith's speeding van, being dragged underneath the vehicle.

After the accident, Smith allegedly looked at the dying boy before running away from the scene with a friend and a relative. Witnesses

said one of the occupants shouted "leg it" as they fled. Sean was treated at the scene by paramedics and rushed to York District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The next day Smith handed himself in to police but initially refused to accept he was driving too fast until a report into the collision concluded otherwise.

Judge Ashurst told him yesterday: "You were driving far too fast. Too fast to allow young Sean to react, and too fast to give yourself any chance of avoiding him.

He added: "You had neither the maturity, the courage nor the decency, to check on Sean's welfare, or to face up to the devastation your careless driving had caused. Rather than stop to help, you and your two passengers simply abandoned your van and ran off into the night.

"Whether or not panic played a part in that decision, it tends to show that evening an indifference and lack of concern for the consequences and the suffering of others. Such behaviour compounded the grief of Sean's family."

Outside the court, Sean's parents said they were relieved Smith had "eventually" come forward and pleaded guilty to the charges, and that they had "no wish to see another life ruined".

And the couple refused to bow to foul-mouthed youths who shouted at

them at the court following the sentencing.

Sean's mother, Sharon, 37, said: "We expected a bit of grief at court. It was just a few young immature yobs. Their words went in one ear and out the other. Smith's parents came to see us after the accident, which was good of them."

She added: "We are pleased Smith has got a custodial sentence, as we were dreading him just getting a ban. He has to live with what he has done for the rest of his life."

Sean's father, Ronnie, 46, a welder, added: "We want to tell people that speed really does kill. We don't want anyone else to go through what we have this past year. The road where Sean was hit is downhill, on a bend and near a school, so it should be a 20mph limit.

"But even if (Smith) had been driving at 30mph, he would have been able to see Sean and stop."

Smith, of Lynwith Lane, Carlton, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by careless driving. He also pleaded guilty to charges of failure to stop at the scene and failure to report the accident.

The court was told he had three points on his licence for using a mobile phone while driving, and convictions for robbery and non-dwelling house burglary. In addition to his custodial sentence, he was banned from driving for five years.

In mitigation, Taryn Turner said her client was full of remorse for his actions and had fled the scene in "blind panic".

She added: "He is devastated by what has happened here. That is something he will have to live with and come to terms with, as is the case for the family who have lost their son and brother."