An ‘arrogant and entitled’ driver who mowed down and killed an 11-year-old schoolgirl has been jailed for five years.
Andrew Cairns, 36, was driving home from work in August 2020 when he hit Ruby Cropper as she was crossing the New Road in Radcliffe, with her friend.
He then drove away from the scene and abandoned his car, before walking to his home address nearby before calling the police.
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She sadly died two days later from unsurvivable injuries.
Following a trial at the Nightingale Court, held at the Hilton Hotel due to the pandemic, earlier this year, a jury unanimously convicted Cairns, of Radcliffe, of causing death by dangerous driving.
Today (February 17) he was jailed for five years.
He had previously pleaded guilty to causing the death of Ruby by careless driving, but denied causing her death by dangerous driving.
The court heard Cairns had not expressed any 'remorse or regret' for what he had done.
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, told the court that on August 10 2020 at around 4.30pm, 11-year-old Ruby was struck by Cairns' Suzuki Alto at ‘excessive speed’ as she crossed the road.
“Instead of waiting and pulling over, or calling an ambulance or asking for help, the defendant chose to drove away,” he said.
“The force of the collision propelled her forwards 14 metres (46 feet) from the point of impact, where she came to rest on the opposite side of the carriageway near to a bus stop.
“Notwithstanding the efforts of decent members of the public, some sat with Ruby as she lay in the road, and efforts of well trained and dedicated ambulance service and medical professionals, she passed away in the early hours of August 12.”
Expert evidence suggested that Cairns was travelling at no less than 44 miles per hour if he had been braking at the point of impact.
The speed limit was 30 miles per hour.
One eyewitness who had been overtaken by Cairns moments before said he had been ‘driving like a looney’.
Other eye-witnesses said they thought Cairns had been ‘driving super fast’ and ‘like he was on a racetrack’.
He was said to have six previous convictions for nine offences, including two offences of drink driving, failing to stop after an accident wherein he flipped his dad’s car onto the roof an offence of battery against a former partner.
Six months after Ruby’s death, Cairns was found speeding on the M62, reaching speeds of 98 miles per hour.
In emotional victim impact statements read to the court, Ruby’s brother Ryan Veitch, mum Shelley Booth and dad Ian Cropper, each spoke of their agony and grief in the immediate aftermath of the collision.
Ryan said he had received a call from their step-dad informing him that he needed to get home as soon as possible as his little sister had been in an accident.
“I was driving down the street and I saw an air ambulance and I realised how serious it was. I screamed: “No, please don’t be for Ruby, no please don’t be for Ruby,” he said.
“Depressed, anxious, numb, empty, miserable, negative. I have felt every single one over the last 18 months.
“Ruby was a kind, caring, unique young girl. She was robbed of her life. If anyone deserved a happy life - it was Ruby.”
Her mum Shelley said: "From the very moment I received the call from my husband telling me that our beautiful daughter Ruby had been run over, life has never been the same.
"The shock of seeing her unconscious and dying in front of me is the worst thing I have ever had to deal with.
"Ruby would have died on the 10 August but, because she was an organ donor, we had until the early hours of 12 August to say goodbye.
"We lay with her and played her favourite music, took her hand and foot prints, told her how much we loved her and were there until her last breath.”
Her dad, Ian, said: "Ruby was my whole world, she was my best friend and absolute love of my life – Ruby made me the person I am. She made me a Daddy, she made me see the world differently, she made me strong when I didn’t feel it, she made me happy when I was sad – she was my EVERYTHING and it's hard to put into words the loss I feel.
"I am not sure there are enough words in this world to try and describe a world without Ruby in it."
The court heard that following her death, Ruby saved three people’s lives after donating her kidneys and liver through the organ donor programme.
In mitigating, his barrister Michael Johnson said: “This was a terrible set of circumstances and he had conducted himself in an unlawful way.
“He did acknowledge by his plea to a lesser count that he caused the death.”
Sentencing, Judge Timothy Smith said: “What you did was insensitive, unfeeling and an uncaring act of gross social responsibility. You demonstrated an arrogant disregard for the rules of the road.
“In your presentence report, there was no expression of remorse or regret. At your trial you were given an opportunity to make a full apology - you did not.
“This was borne out of your own sense of entitlement to drive at excessive speeds regardless of the speed limit and regardless of the consequences.”
Cairns, of Rupert Street, was jailed for five years and banned from driving for seven years.
PC Laura Drew, a Forensic Collision Reconstruction Officer employed by Greater Manchester Police, filed a report that stated: "Witnesses estimate Mr Cairns speed was between 50mph and 60mph.
"It is not known as to what exact path or speed Miss Cropper ran at, however research shows her time in the road to be between 0.8 and 1.3 seconds. Mr Cairns could not have avoided this collision at the speed he was travelling.
"However, had Mr Cairns been travelling at the speed limit, Miss Cropper would have had time to pass across the front of his vehicle without him having to take any evasive action."
Lead Investigator, PC Phil Drummond, from GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "For reasons only known to himself, Cairns chose to drive in a way that would inevitably end in disaster.
"His reckless actions had the most severe of consequences; the life of a young, innocent girl ended and a family torn apart.
"As quickly as he took Ruby’s life, he fled the scene without any thought for her, leaving decent members of the public to rush to her aid.
"While Cairns admitted to causing Ruby’s death at an earlier hearing, he failed to recognise and take responsibility for his sustained, despicable course of driving.
"Furthermore, only six months later and while on bail, he continued to drive without regard for public safety and was caught speeding, showing a complete and utter lack of remorse.
"Thankfully, 17 months after the collision, a jury saw through Cairns' inconsistent account and rightly convicted him of causing Ruby’s death by driving dangerously.
"I wish to thank Ruby’s family for their patience and compassion throughout the entire investigation. I hope this serves to bring them some level of closure.
"Furthermore, I would like to take the opportunity to commend the efforts of the members of public who not only aided Ruby until paramedics arrived but furthermore, appeared in court to give evidence, ultimately reliving their horrific memories.
"I hope this serves to reassure our communities and a reminder those who seek to put them in danger - the Serious Collision Investigation Unit is dedicated to our work and will continue to prosecute them."
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