A man who killed a dog walker was driving almost double the speed limit, a court has heard.
Jason McGuire, 33, of Cockshead Road, Liverpool, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday for sentencing.
The court heard that Alan Williams, 74, and his pet dog, Sam, who he was walking at the time, both suffered “multiple and catastrophic injuries” and died at the scene as a result of the crash.
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McGuire was driving westbound in a rented BMW, in the outside lane, whilst Mr Williams and his dog were crossing from the South to the North side of the road.
The crash took place at 5.45pm on Childwall Valley Road, around 70ft from a pedestrian crossing, on November 23, 2020.
BMW experts who analysed the crash data, found that McGuire had accelerated from 39mph to 55mph and was travelling at 58mph at the point of collision, despite the 30mph speed limit on that road.
The Police Collision Investigator found that though the crash took place after sunset, all street lights were working and the weather was clear, meaning visibility was good.
Mr Bisarya, prosecuting, explained that a witness, Mr Peter Carruthers noticed the BMW and assumed it was an unmarked police car because of the high speed it was driving.
Dashcam footage from Mr Carruthers was shown in court, and clearly showed McGuire undertaking Mr Carruthers and continuing at speed down the road. It also showed no brake lights appeared on McGuire’s vehicle.
Another driver, Mr Gareth Jones, who witnessed the collision, was overtaken by the McGuire and said in a statement read out by the prosecution, that he “could see the pedestrian was going to be hit”, and “that the black BMW was not breaking”.
A passer-by, Mr Dimitris Farmakis stopped at the scene and called his son Christopher, a Rescue and Firefighter working at Liverpool airport, who came to the scene and tried to help Mr Williams.
The court heard that Mr William’s family had been concerned about his health due to a diagnosis of diabetes, and had bought him an Apple watch which would alert them if he had fallen.
At 5:50pm, Mr William’s eldest son, Peter, received an alert via his Apple watch telling him his father had a “hard fall”, and gave the location. He rushed to the scene to discover what had happened.
It was also determined by a Collision Investigator, that if McGuire had been travelling at the speed limit, Mr Williams would not have been in the eastbound lane, so would not have been hit.
Judge Louise Brandon said the family members who appeared in court “demonstrate that he (Mr Williams) was loved and no doubt missed.”
She described McGuire’s driving as a “persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving” and that McGuire showed “a total failure to have proper regard for vulnerable road users.”
Judge Brandon said the manner of his driving “created a substantial risk of danger” and “all of this is a tragedy that could so easily have been avoided.”
Mr Bisarya told the court that Dr Jonathan Medcalf, Home Office Pathologist, found Mr Williams “sustained multiple and catastrophic injuries resulting in immediate loss of consciousness and death soon after.” His dog suffered similar injuries and also died at the scene.
McGuire did stop at the scene and called an ambulance, but suddenly hung up, stating “I’m not staying on the phone”. When emergency services arrived at the scene, his phone could not be found.
However, it was agreed there was no evidence of him being on his phone at the time of the crash.
McGuire appeared in an interview on the evening of the incident and confirmed he was the driver, and that he had no medical condition that affected his ability to drive, and there were no issues with the vehicle that could have caused the crash.
The victim's family declined to offer a victim impact statement, instead deciding to “keep their grief private”.
It was also agreed that there was no evidence of racing or competitive driving, but that McGuire did drive “aggressively”.
McGuire pleaded guilty to the offence of causing death by dangerous driving on November 11.
He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, and was disqualified for eight years and nine months, and has to pass an extended re-test before getting a new licence.
Mr Dylan, defending, stated it was “grossly excessive and inappropriate speed which caused this event”, but that McGuire was “genuinely remorseful”.
He added: “He says he has learnt a bitter and severe lesson.”
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