10 years for killer driver who rammed thieves
A DRIVER who chased down and killed a thief who stole his motorbike has been jailed for 10 years.
Mihai Dinisoae was determined to hunt down Joshua Molloy and Mikey Dunwiddie after they stole his Honda from outside his home in Fenham, Newcastle.
For several miles, the 32-year-old driver pursued the pair.
CCTV captured him ramming the back wheel of the bike with his Vauxhall Vectra once before continuing the chase and smashing into it from behind a second time at around 56mph, catapulting the two men and the bike through the air on May 3 this year.
Pillion passenger Mr Molloy died almost instantly from multiple injuries after hitting a lamppost on a pedestrian crossing and landing on railings, while rider Mr Dunwiddie was seriously hurt but survived.
Dinisoae, who fled the scene on Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle, was found not guilty of murdering Mr Molloy, 28, last month after a trial but has now pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He had previously admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Mr Dunwiddie.
As he was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court, Mr Molloy’s younger sister, Libby Molloy and mum, Lisa Carroll, told how his death had left them heartbroken.
Libby said: “My life changed forever the day my big brother was taken away from me.
“I miss every single thing about him. It breaks my heart I will no longer be able to have this.
“I’m so proud to say Joshua Molloy was my big brother.”
Mum, Lisa, added in her victim impact statement that he loved horses and attending the Appleby Horse Fair.
She added that she was always proud of her son and, while she didn’t always agree with the decisions he made, when he got into trouble he had never directly hurt anyone.
Lisa added: “His death has had such a profound impact on our family and friends.
“Never did I imagine I would go through the pain of attending the funeral of my child at such a young age. No mother should have to bury their handsome 28-year-old son.
“My heart will never mend until I see him again.”
She added: “He did not deserve to be chased down in such a dangerous way.
“He had no control of the motorcycle and must have been terrified as this man repeatedly tried to force him off the road.”
Dinisoae, a Romanian national who was living in Fenham with his partner and another Romanian couple at the time, kept his Honda motorcycle, which he had bought for £450 a month earlier, at the front of his home, behind his Vauxhall Vectra, at night.
Around 5.30am on May 3 Dinisoae’s neighbours were woken by the sound of a motorcycle’s engine revving and raised voices in foreign accents, before the chase began.
Police recovered CCTV clips and pieced together what happened from them and witness statements.
The car is seen ramming the bike but failed to stop it, Dinisoae then rammed it again on Newbiggin Lane, sending both men and the bike flying.
Mr Justice Goss, who told Dinosoae he would be banned from driving for four years after serving his 10-year sentence, said the jury were not satisfied he had intended to cause really serious harm.
But the judge concluded he deliberately drove right up behind the bike either intending to knock it over to retrieve the bike or got so close a collision was inevitable.
Justice Goss acknowledged Dinisoae had been wronged by the theft but told him it did not entitle him to “take the law into your own hands”.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Molloy had 39 fractures to his ribs, fractures to his arm, thigh, collarbone, sternum and pelvis and his spleen was almost in two pieces, meaning he would have died “quickly”.
Mr Dunwiddie had fractures to his spine at the base of his neck, three ribs, his pelvis and had damage to both kidneys and tears to arteries including his aorta, indicating extreme force had caused them to stretch. He also had a blood clot behind his abdomen, a fractured lumber vertebrae, a small tear to his spleen and minor damage to his limbs.
The court heard Dinisoae had previous convictions in Romania and Spain for driving offences between 2007 and 2018.
Francis FitzGibbon QC, defending, said Dinisoae is remorseful, adding: “Looking back now he utterly regrets what he did and he can see what he did was wrong, reckless and dangerous.”
Mr FitzGibbon said it was not, by virtue of his acquittal of murder, a case of deliberate ramming.
He added: “But for the brazen theft of this motorcycle the defendant would not have committed this offence. It was a highly provocative act.
“It may be his sense of grievance is what caused him to lose his judgement and act recklessly.”
Mr FitzGibbon added: “It would be artificial to say Mikey Dunwiddie has no responsibility for the death of his friend because he plainly does.”