Grieving husband hits out after jailed driver appeals sentence
Abereaved husband has accused his wife’s killer of dismissing his guilt after appealing against his sentence.
Dr i ve r Da v i d Sh i e l d s w a s checking his mobile phone for 18 seconds before his pick- up truck slammed in to Yvonne Blackman’s car in Dumfries last year.
The 66- year- old grandmother was waiting in queuing traffic when she was hit, and was paralysed instantly.
Last month former soldier Shields was sentenced to five years behind bars and banned from driving for seven and a half years.
But he has now lodged an appeal
‘
Our daughter and grandchildren will never see her again
against his sentence, prompting outcry from Yvonne’s grieving widower Ralph.
Shields previously told a court and Yvonne’s family he was ashamed of his actions and that he did not intend to i n j u re anyone – claims which Ralph has now dismissed in light of the appeal.
Ralph, a retired
HGV driver from Lockerbie, said: “This appeal just says to me that he does not accept his punishment really, and he doesn’t think he deserves this. He was crying in the court room, was all that just for show?
“He thinks his sentence has been too harsh, and that he doesn’t deserve to be in jail for five years.
“It wouldn’t even have been that – it would have been two and a half years before he was released.
“Two and a half years is nothing for what he did. I will never see my wife again, neither will our daughter or grandchildren.”
In court, footage was played of 34- year- old Shields, from Ayr, inside his cab reaching over to touch his mobile phone attached to the dashboard.
He was driving from Stoke to