Appeal court frees death crash driver
AN RAF serviceman who caused the deaths of a retired couple in a road smash as he drove through a dust cloud has had his career saved by top judges who freed him from jail last week.
London's Appeal Court heard Nottingham couple, Anthony and Sylvia Hewitt, were killed instantly when 26-year-old Kristian Ben Rodgers crashed head on into their car as he overtook a minibus near Sleaford.
Rodgers, of Tansley Drive, Sheffield, was jailed for eight months at Lincoln Crown Court on July 7 after being found guilty of two charges of causing death by careless driving.
He had previously offered to admit the charges but this was not accepted by the prosecution and he was convicted after the jury cleared him at trial of the more serious offences of causing death by dangerous driving.
But Rodgers challenged the jail term on the grounds it had a 'devastating effect' on his future - including his dismissal from the RAF.
Judges at the Appeal Court agreed the sentence would destroy the career of a 'very capable serviceman' and ruled it should be suspended. The decision means he will be freed immediately and his commanding officer will recommend that he be kept on by the RAF.
Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Christopher Clarke, told the court Rodgers was driving to his girlfriend's home in Sheffield from his base at RAF Coningsby, Lincoln, at about 2pm on March 23 last year.
Mr Hewitt, 70, and his 65-year-old wife, were returning to their home in Nottingham from a holiday and Mrs Hewitt had the family's pet dog on her lap.
The court heard a witness described 'black dust' blowing across the road when Rodgers decided to overtake a minibus in front of him. His Renault Clio crashed head on into the Hewitts' car, killing them instantly.
Rodgers was seriously injured in the smash and was taken to hospital by air ambulance. He later told police he saw the Hewitts' car 'coming out of the dust' as he was overtaking the minibus but didn't have time to react.
The eight-month jail term was quashed and replaced by an eight-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 100-hour unpaid work order.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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