Dad-to-be killed on his birthday
HIT BY STOLEN BMW AT 60MPH
A DAD-TO-BE was flung into the air and killed on his birthday after being hit by a motorist travelling at three times the speed limit, a court heard.
Kayden Wallbank, 22, was ‘showing off’ in a stolen black BMW 320 at 60mph in a 20mph zone in Harpurhey when he mowed down 28-year-old Callum Steadman, known affectionately as ‘Spud.’ Mr Steadman, a security worker at Asda, had recently learned his girlfriend was pregnant and ‘had never been happier.’
Jailing Wallbank for the death crash yesterday, Judge Patrick Field QC said: “In that brief and terrible moment you deprived Callum of his life, his parents of a son, his partner of Callum’s love and compassion and you deprived his unborn son of a father.”
Wallbank and his victim knew each other and were from the same estate in Harpurhey, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Kayne Kennedy, a friend of Mr Steadman, was in the back of the BMW after being offered a lift by Wallbank who was ‘showing off’ in the car, it was heard.
Andrew Mackintosh, prosecuting, said: “He (Mr Kennedy) was shouting ‘bro, slow down,’ for he was scared they might hit someone or crash the vehicle.” After knocking down Mr Steadman, Mr Kennedy told Wallbank: ‘What are you doing? You have just hit someone. You need to get out.’ Wallbank replied ‘I can’t’ and he sped off.
A manhunt was launched by police and Wallbank hid in a hotel in Cheetham Hill for four days, before he was eventually tracked down.
He has now been jailed for seven years after admitting a series of motoring offences.
On the evening of his death on December 1 last year, Mr Steadman, who worked at Asda in Eastlands, was celebrating his birthday at home with friends and family. They had enjoyed a couple of drinks and were playing cards, and Mr Steadman and a friend left to go to the shops to get some change for the game.
The pair were crossing Fernclough Road and looked to their right to see if any cars were approaching, their view slightly obscured by a parked
car. After seeing a car approaching, Mr Steadman’s friend opted to wait, but Mr Steadman decided to try to make it across the road.
He was then hit by the BMW driven by Wallbank.
Mr Mackintosh said Mr Steadman was ‘hurled quite some distance into the air before landing.’
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
In a statement to police, passenger Mr Kennedy said he pleaded with Wallbank to slow down and described how the driver ‘put his foot down.’
He said following the crash, the BMW’s bonnet ‘looked as though it had been smashed by a brick’ and that the windscreen was broken.
After being tracked to the hotel and arrested, Wallbank told officers: “It was just an accident. It was a bad accident, you know.”
He claimed Mr Steadman had walked out in front of him and that he had no chance to brake.
Wallbank, who had not drunk or taken drugs before driving, told officers he had bought the BMW from a man for £200, but admitted he knew it was stolen.
In victim impact statements read to the court, Mr Steadman’s family told of their devastation. His partner Gemma Yates, who also worked at the Asda store, had been in a relationship with Mr Steadman for four months.
Ms Yates revealed she had told her partner that she was pregnant in November. She said: “He was over the moon and so happy, he couldn’t keep it to himself. I can’t get over the fact that our child will grow up without Callum as their dad. He would have been a brilliant dad.”
Mr Steadman’s mum Caroline added: “He has never been happier than when he was with Gemma. It’s especially difficult that the collision happened straight outside our address.” She added that December 1 is now ‘entwined’ with Mr Steadman’s birth and death. Wallbank, of no fixed address, has previous convictions, including aggravated vehicle taking, burglary and theft, the court heard. Andrew Scott, defending, conceded his mitigation may offer ‘little to no comfort’ to the victim’s family, but said Wallbank shows ‘deep regret’ and ‘genuine remorse’ for his actions. Mr Scott said Wallbank will have to ‘come to terms’ with that he had done, and said ‘he is and forever more will be remorseful and mortified by the consequences of his actions.’ “He will carry the most heavy of burdens for the remainder of his life,” Mr Scott added. Sentencing, Judge Field said: “I have no doubt you wanted to show off your recent acquisition (the car)”. He added that Mr Steadman’s family should not take the jail term handed down as a measure of his life or the loss they have suffered. Wallbank previously pleaded guilty to six offences – causing death by dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, driving without a licence, driving without insurance, failing to stop and failing to report an accident. He was also banned from driving for eight years and four months.
He was over the moon and so happy, he couldn’t keep it to himself Callum’s girlfriend Gemma Yates