Driver who killed little boys gets 9 years
JUDGE’S WORDS AS HE JAILS DRIVER WHO KILLED BROTHERS FOR NINE YEARS
A DISQUALIFIED driver who was high on cocaine when he hit and killed two young brothers in Coventry has been jailed for nine years.
Robert Brown, 53, of Attwood Crescent, Wyken, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to causing the deaths of Corey and Casper Platt-May in Longfellow Road, Stoke, on February 22.
His partner and co-defendant, Gwendoline Harrison, 41, of Triumph Close, Wyken, had a charge of causing the death of six-year-old Corey and Casper, two, dropped at the last court hearing.
She instead pleaded guilty to assault with intent to resist arrest, and was jailed for six months.
A victim statement from the boys’ mum Louise, read out in court by their dad Reece Platt-May, told of her devastation at the deaths of two of her four sons.
The court heard she was on a “rollercoaster of hurt and can’t get off”, adding: “I feel so guilty if my sons make me laugh or smile, like it’s wrong to be happy again.”
A statement from Corey and Casper’s nine-year-old brother Connor was also read out, which said: “I’m really going to miss my brothers. The play fights, the movie nights, swimming, trips to the park.”
Rachel Brand, prosecuting, said Brown had never passed a driving test or held a valid licence but had driven since he was a teenager. He had been convicted of driving while disqualified on 30 previous occasions. footage Miss from Brand the described incident CCTV as “extremely distressing”. The court heard witnesses estimated the speed of Brown’s Ford Focus at 60 to 70mph and that he was “driving like a mad man”. Miss Brand said the family had been looking left and right before attempting to cross the road while on the way to the park and, according to a passing cyclist, “did everything right”. Two men who were working on a bus shelter nearby heard women and children screaming, and tyres screeching. Miss Brand said one of them stopped Brown as he tried to flee the scene, while Harrison assaulted a bystander with a plastic bag filled with beer. The pair were later found by police hiding behind a garden shed in Macdonald Road. When they were at the police station they were four times over the legal drug-drive limit for cocaine. The court heart that Brown had only been released from prison for driving offences six days before the horrific crash. Brown was sentenced to nine years in prison for each count of death by dangerous driving, to run concurrently. He was sentenced to a further four years for driving while disqualified, also to run concurrently, and has been disqualified for driving for 10 years and six months following his release. Tyrone Smith, representing Brown, argued that Brown was not necessarily grossly impaired by the cocaine. He said the vehicle did stop at the
I’m really going to miss my brothers. The play fights, the movie nights, swimming, trips to the park. Brother Connor
scene and the defendant returned back to the scene, adding: “Upon seeing what he was responsible for he didn’t have the courage to take responsibility for it.”
Mr Smith said there was nothing he could say that would put a “positive gloss” on Brown’s criminal background. He read a letter from Brown’s daughter which he said showed he had had a “difficult life with all manner of problems but those in no way justify or explain anything what has happened”. Harrison was disqualified from driving for 27 months.
The prosecution entered no evidence for her on a charge of perverting the course of justice – which had related to her not telling the truth about the driver of the car – and two previous charges of causing the deaths of the boys by dangerous driving were dropped at the last court hearing. Her solicitor, David Murray, told the court her actions were out of “misguided loyalty to her partner”.
He read a statement to the court in which she offered her condolences and apologies to the family of the two little boys. Judge Andrew Lockhart QC praised the family’s dignity and bravery and said Brown “would have to face the terrible effects of his actions for the rest of his life.”
Addressing Brown, the judge said: “Your selfish and reckless driving have torn apart this family.”