Sentence will not be increased for driver
A COMPUTER expert who knocked down and killed a young woman while he ‘gambled on an amber light’ will not have his jail sentence increased.
Glenn Michael Wall, 35, was trying to get home for a barbecue when he fatally struck 25-year-old Helena Thurm, his trial was told.
University graduate Helena was on her way home from a job interview in June 2016 and crossing Manchester Road in Altrincham.
Wall claimed Helena was holding a mobile phone and walked out in front of his car before he tried to avoid her. The defendant, an IT operations manager of Lawrence Road, Altrincham, denied causing her death by dangerous driving but was found guilty after a trial.
He was jailed for two years at Manchester Crown Court on January 22, this year.
But the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, was not content with the sentence and thought Wall should have been jailed for much longer. He referred the case to London’s Court of Appeal.
Jonathan Polnay, for the Solicitor General, argued Wall should have got a much tougher punishment.
He pointed to the ‘inappropriate speed for the prevailing conditions’ and ‘failure to have regard for a vulnerable road user.’ Lawyers for Wall argued that the trial judge was ‘best placed’ to assess him and that he had ‘powerful’ personal mitigation.
Lord Justice Simon agreed that the crown court judge had ‘presided over the trial and was in a good position to assess Wall’s culpability.’
Refusing to increase Wall’s jail term on Tuesday, he ruled: “This was not an unduly lenient sentence. We will not interfere.”
Prosecutor Rob Hall told the jury during Wall’s trial in Manchester last November how the defendant was driving between 30mph and 36mph, adding: “The Crown therefore suggest that excess speed has a part to play in this case. In effect he gambled on the amber light.”
After Wall was found guilty in Manchester, Helena’s mum Sandra read out a victim impact statement to the court.
She said: “Helena had so much to live for, so much unfulfilled potential, so much love and passion. Whatever sentence the defendant gets, remember we are serving a life sentence of sadness and grief.”