Jailed... driver of 87 who killed woman in reversing gaffe
A DRIVER aged 87 who killed a shopper when he stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake has been jailed for 27 months.
William Heagren reversed his Ford Fusion into the woman and her friend in a supermarket car park just minutes after he had bumped into a bollard.
Jeanette Newman, 64, from South Ruislip, west London, died in hospital the next day from brain injuries.
After the hearing, her partner of 25 years Andrew Roberts called for a mandatory practical test for all drivers when they reach 70.
Jeanette’s friend Sarah Taylor, 53, who bore the brunt of the horror crash, managed to survive.
However, she suffered a stroke and was left with life-changing injuries.
Harrow Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Heagren, from Harrow, had been left angry after hitting the bollard at Sainsbury’s in South Ruislip in May last year.
Broken
He was then seen on CCTV getting back in the car, wrongly putting it into reverse and hitting the wrong pedal.
Defending, David Wood said his client was a “thoroughly decent man” left devastated by what happened.
Jeanette’s partner Mr Roberts, 58, wrote to his local MP Boris Johnson calling for a change in the law.
He said: “I am a broken man since Jeanette was so violently and suddenly taken away. I take no pleasure from seeing Mr Heagren jailed.
“I am in favour of a mandatory practical test for all drivers when they reach 70, which should be supplemented by a compulsory annual medical review once they reach 75.”
Mr Johnson replied to the letter, saying he disagreed with the proposal.
Currently, when motorists turn 70 in the UK the DVLA will send them a form to renew their licence for three years. People can declare their own fitness to drive without any proof.