An unlicensed UK driver who recklessly injured a pedestrian and killed his dog three years ago avoided jail this week – with what the victim described as “effectively getting away” with the crime.
Kallum Aish, 20, was ordered to serve 22 months suspended for 18 months on Wednesday at a Birmingham court, meaning he will only face prison if he does not complete a court-ordered 30-day rehabilitation programme, reports BirminghamLive.
The slap on the wrist comes after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from a July 2020 crash that injured grandmother-of-six Patricia Faulker.
“Oh my god. I’ve been waiting all this time [for him to be sentenced] and he managed to escape,” victim Faulker, 75, who lost his Staffordshire terrier, Millie, in the wreck, told The Daily Mail.
“This is not justice,” he insisted.
The light sentence is likely due to Aish’s age at the time of the accident, BirminghamLive explained.
Aish was just 17 when the black Renault Clio she was driving veered off the road in Doe Bank Lane, Great Barr, and hit Faulker and Millie at around 4.55pm on July 22, 2020, the local network said.
Kallum Aish spared jail over accident July 2020. Handout
CCTV footage of the wreckage showed how Faulkner and Millie were “pushed into the hedgerow,” prosecutor Rebecca Da Silva told the court, per BirminghamLive.
Faulkner suffered a broken leg and concussion, and Millie was tragically killed at the scene, the court heard.
“I bounced off his windshield and flew over the fence into the field, where he left me unconscious,” Faulkner told the Mail.
Horrific CCTV footage shows Aish plowing into Patricia Faulker and killing her dog while speeding. West Midlands Police
“My legs will never be the same. There are a lot of people around here who have been waiting for the sentence and they will be as angry as I am with the decision.”
Ahead of Aish’s sentencing, the court also heard a victim impact statement that touched on the loss of Faulker and his family’s beloved puppy.
“I had him for four years, he was a rescue dog. He is my world, such an amazing dog,” she wrote.
Patricia Faulkner with her beloved dog, Millie, before the accident. Handout
“He was out for a walk and I don’t understand how anyone could leave a dying dog alone in pain. I will miss him forever. Nothing will replace it.”
Faulker still has difficulty walking, and is now partly dependent on her disabled husband Michael, 78, to look after her, added prosecutor Richard Purchase, the BBC reported.
“Having seen the footage, Ms Faulkner is very lucky to be alive, to have been hit by the car in that manner,” Purchase speculated.
At the sentencing, Judge Mukherjee explained that Faulker and his family would not be awarded compensation because Aish was unemployed and lived with her mother, BirminghamLive said.
Aish had two passengers in the car with her, and was driving at least twice the 20 mph speed limit at the time of the crash, the outlet explained
Prosecutors had previously claimed the teenager was racing with a friend at the time of the crash, but he has denied the allegations, according to the BBC.
He fled the scene, and only handed himself in to West Midlands Police a week later when harrowing CCTV of the collision was released as part of an appeal for public information, the outlet explained.
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Aish was “very immature” and showed “recklessness” during the incident, defense lawyer Richard Davenport admitted in court – but has since had her own share of health issues and has been the target of serious hate from the community.
“There was so much venom against the family from the local community that the house ended up being firebombed. It didn’t burn but the front window was destroyed by a petrol bomb and they had to move,” claimed Davenport.
“The defendant received death threats on social media from members of the public. He was completely disconnected from his circle of friends.”
Aish was being treated for cancer at the time of the firebombing, Davenport claimed.
Following the accident, the lawyer continued, the young man also became a victim of his own road accident.
“On December 5, the defendant was riding a bicycle on the road when he was hit by another vehicle. The collision fractured the right side of his skull,” he claimed, noting that Aish’s mother saw the accident as “karma” for the July 2020 tragedy.
Judge Mukherjee was skeptical of the defense and slammed Aish’s “reckless and dangerous behaviour”.
“The bottom line Mr Aish is that you shouldn’t have been driving at all that day,” he told the court, as reported by BirminghamLive.
“You have no license and no insurance. You have previously broken the country’s road laws. Worse is to follow. This is aggressive driving at excessive speeds and frankly it’s clear to everyone, especially me, you’re racing with other people,” he continued.
“I put it down to machismo, ego and testosterone. You were an inexperienced driver at the time. You clearly lose control and turn on an innocent bystander, Patricia Faulkner who takes Millie for a ride with devastating consequences for both of them.
“Those who drive them must have a duty of care to other road users. You have significantly neglected the task. Not only did Millie die but Mrs Faulkner suffered life-changing injuries.”
As well as charges directly related to the accident, Aish also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis after 25 bags of the class B drug were found in her bedroom, BirminghamLive said.
As part of his sentence, AIsh was banned from driving for three years and ordered to complete a 30-day rehabilitation and Stepping Stone program, the judge said.
“This is an unusual course that I have taken for a very serious offence. You will get one chance. You won’t get another one,” he warned Aish.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
