A
cannabis-smoking driver has been jailed for four years after killing a
14-year-old schoolgirl while texting at the wheel moments after she was
waved off by her father.
Liberty Baker died after being hit as she walked to school with friends in Witney, Oxfordshire, last June.
Robert
Blackwell, a 19-year-old drug user, was behind the wheel of the
speeding Citroen C2 which mounted the pavement where Liberty was
walking.
The teenager wept today as he was led away from court after being jailed for four years.
Liberty
Baker was killed last June by teenager Robert
Blackwell. The
19-year-old, who smoked cannabis the day before crashing into the
schoolgirl while texting at the wheel, was jailed for four years
Liberty's father Paul Baker said the family was 'devastated' by the shortness of Blackwell's sentence.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Baker said: 'We are devastated at the sentence which has been handed out today.
'This man's
actions cost my daughter her life and we will have to live with our loss
every single day. He is only likely to spend a few years in prison.
'We will never recover from the cruel and heartbreaking way our beautiful daughter was taken from us.
'Our lives will never be the same again.'
Earlier the family's victim statement said their lives had been 'shattered' by the teenager's death.
Liberty's younger brother Finlay, 11, said it had left 'a big hole' in their family.
+10
The teenager was walking to school in Witney, Oxfordshire, when she was struck by Blackwell's car
'I HAVE A BIG RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE MY MUM AND DAD HAPPY' : THE HEARTBREAKING VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT OF LIBERTY'S BROTHER, 11
+10
Tragic: Liberty's family offered heartbreaking victim impact statements in court
Liberty's family offered heartbreaking victim impact statements during the trial of Robert Blackwell.
Among them was Finlay's, her 11-year-old brother, who said learning of her death was 'the worst day'.
'I feel there is a big hole in our family circle. My feelings are of sadness and anger,' he said.
'I worry about my mum and dad, I have a big responsibility to make mum and dad happy.
'I hope the man goes to jail.'
In
a separate poem read aloud in court he told his sister: 'There is a new
angel in the sky. Those special memories of you will always make me
smile.
'If
I could have you back just for a while. It's been a year since you
passed away, I still think of you every day in my own special way.
'I hate not knowing for sure what happens when you die. But I really love to believe there is heaven past the sky.'
Reading
a statement on behalf of the whole family to the court, Mr Baker said
Liberty's death had left their lives 'severely shattered' and that they
felt 'utterly devastated'.
He said: 'Liberty left the house at 7.55am to go to school. Within 10 minutes out lives had been destroyed and changed forever.
'We
are all still in disbelief and cannot understand how Liberty could have
been killed whilst walking innocently to school along the footpath
which she had done for the past three years.
'The
future milestones that we would have taken for granted such as Liberty
wearing her prom dress, going to university, her 18th and 21st birthdays
and being able to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day have been
so cruelly taken from us.
'Day
to day life will never be the same. Our house has gone from a very
happy, vibrant home which used to run like clockwork. Now it is a house
which just about functions.
'No parent should have to bury their child especially after an avoidable event.'
Sentencing
Blackwell, Judge Ian Pringle: 'There is nothing I can so or do to stop
the everlasting pain and grief of those who have had to live with the
loss of Liberty.'
Earlier the court heard how Blackwell 'failed to negotiate' the road he was driving along before striking the teenager.
Prosecutor
Ian Hope told the court: 'He completely failed to negotiate the
sweeping left-hand bend. He quite literally just didn't turn.
'The most obvious reason for the gross lack of attention to the road was that he was in some way messing about with his phone.'
During
his trial it emerged Blackwell received a text message from his
girlfriend just moments before an ambulance was called to the scene.
He
denied being distracted by it as his phone remained locked at the time
of the crash. Prosecutors argued that because he owned an iPhone - on
which text messages can be read without having to unlock the phone -
there was every possibility he had been distracted.
Immediately after the crash, Blackwell was said to have told witnesses: 'I am so sorry. It's all my fault.
'It all happened so fast, I just lost control.'
He was told by Judge Pringle the speed he had been travelling at was 'grossly excessive'.
'The
plain fact of the matter is that at the time the braking took
place...you were travelling at 50 per cent above the speed limit. That,
in my view, is grossly excessive.'
+10
+10
Blackwell wept as he was led away to the cells. He is seen arriving today before being jailed for four years
+10
Liberty's father Paul Baker (left)
said he wished he had been killed instead. Her mother, Maureen (right
with Finley, Liberty's 10-year-old brother) broke down in tears at a
previous court hearing
Last month Liberty's father, Paul Baker, told of he waved his 'beautiful' daughter off to school moments before her death.
Describing
her death as a 'living nightmare', he said: 'There is not a single day
that goes by that I wish the driver had killed me not Liberty. We've
gone from a happy family to a sad family.
'We are totally devastated that our daughter was killed in an avoidable way. A child has been killed by an adult.'
Mr Baker and his wife, Maureen, are now campaigning for tougher laws on driving.
'There is a mobile phone driving culture on our roads, combined with a speeding culture,' he said last month.
'This
is a recipe for further avoidable road deaths. I do not want another
family to go through this nightmare and feel like we do.
'My last words to Liberty on that morning as she left for school at 7.55 was 'Bye, have fun'. She was dead by 8.15.'
During
a trial last month, the court heard how Blackwell had been smoking
cannabis the day before the crash with traces of the drug still in his
blood.
+10
Following her death campaigners
fundraised for a tree to be planted in Liberty's memory. Above, the
grass verge where she was run over
+10
Liberty was on her way to Henry Box School in Witney, Oxfordshire (above) when she was hit by the car
'There are studies that suggest it can impair driving for up to 24 hours,' said prosecutor Ian Hope.
He
was 'distracted' at the time of the crash, said lawyers, with phone
records revealing he received a text message five minutes before the
first call was placed to 999 to report the crash.
'(He was) distracted for what must have been a period of time of 10 seconds or more,' Mr Hope added.
'The
prosecution say is it fair and proper inference to say from the
evidence... at the time the telephone was the source of distraction.'
He
denied the accusation, insisting his phone was still locked at the time
of the crash and that he had been under pressure from his job.
'He genuinely cannot say what was distracting him,' defence barrister Claire Fraser told the court.
'He
did not realise or see that a text had come. He is adamant that the
mobile phone is not the cause of this accident but his inattention and
his speed.'
She added his phone was connected to a charger and was sitting on the front seat.
Mr Hope rejected claims he had not seen the text message which would have flashed up on his screen even if locked.
After
Liberty's death last June fundraisers campaigned for a memorial tree to
be placed in Henry Box School grounds, around a mile from where she was
hit.
David Cameron sent condolences to the schoolgirl's parents and 10-year-old brother, Finley.
The
Prime Minister, who is the MP for Witney, wrote on Twitter: 'My
thoughts are with friends and family of the 14-year- old girl killed by a
car in Witney this morning.’
+10
Blackwell's car following the incident last June. Liberty was struck as she crossed the road and tossed onto his windscreen
0 My Comment:
Post a Comment