Jailed hit-and-run killer had string of crimes in Hungary
A CONVICTED criminal from Hungary who killed two little girls in a hitand-run last New Year’s Eve and then tried to cover up the crime, has been jailed for just four years.
Gabor Hegedus was speeding moments before he ploughed into cousins Helina Kotlarova, 12, and Zaneta Krokovaje, 11, in Oldham, sending one of the girls flying 65ft through the air.
Helina, who was propelled into the path of an oncoming car, was pronounced dead at the scene while Zaneta died in hospital two days later.
Hegedus, who had no valid driving licence, and his three Hungarian accomplices – all convicted criminals – failed to stop at the scene and later dumped the Peugeot car, reporting it stolen. The 39-year-old, who has a string of convictions in Hungary, but was in the UK legally under EU law, was arrested the next day.
He was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, but fearing they might struggle to prove the case because CCTV showed Hegedus’s vision had been obscured by a van, prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to a lesser charge of careless driving, which carries a maximum sentence of just five years.
After admitting two counts of causing death by careless driving, Hegedus was jailed for four years, meaning he could be out in two, effectively serving just 12 months for each life he took. Road safety campaigners last night called for an urgent review of the law to increase the length of sentences being handed out in fatal road accidents.
Jason Wakeford, spokesman for Brake, said: “There is nothing careless in taking someone’s life. Having this distinction between careless and dangerous is one of the reasons sentences are so low for these offences.”
Manchester Crown Court heard how Hegedus had been travelling at 40mph in a 30mph zone when his car hit the two girls on Ashton Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
The cousins, from the Czech Republic, had been crossing the road hand in hand when they were struck. Hegedus sped off and later that night posted a picture on social media of him grinning and holding a bottle of prosecco in one hand and schnapps in the other, wishing his followers “Happy New Year”.
Hegedus had been convicted in 2000 of robbery and aggravated battery. In 2007, before he moved to Britain, he was convicted of car theft and counterfeiting. The court heard one of his three accomplices was a convicted rapist and killer, while another had been jailed for fraud and forgery.
After the incident, Hegedus shaved his head and beard in an attempt to disguise himself, but was arrested after police traced him through CCTV. Police said they found cannabis in his system.
In a statement read to the hearing Helena’s mother, Sylva Kotlarova, said: “I’m very sad that the person who is responsible for the death of my daughter is going to be free in a few years whilst my daughter will never come back.”
Milan Kroka, Zaneta’s father, said: “Nothing will ever bring back our daughter.”
Hegedus’s three accomplices admitted perverting the course of justice and were jailed for 20 months, 25 months and 21 months respectively.
‘I’m very sad that the person who is responsible for the death of my daughter will be free in a few years’