Mother criticises 10-month term for bus driver who killed girl, 15
A BUS driver has been jailed for 10 months after admitting causing a crash that killed one teenager and left another with lifethreatening injuries.
Paul Andrew Brown, 51, of Cannon Hall Road, Fir Vale, Sheffield, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty at a hearing last month to causing death by driving without due care or attention. He was also banned from driving for 17 months.
Brown was at the wheel of a single-decker bus on Haymarket in Sheffield city centre in December 2015 when it hit 15-year-old Summer Seymour as she crossed the road. Miss Seymour, from Hillsborough, died from her injuries.
Her boyfriend, Jake Ford, 17, suffered a crushed pelvis, leg and collar bone as well as a punctured lung and broken vertebrae in his back.
Speaking outside court, Miss Seymour’s mother, Corrina Seymour, said she did not think Brown had been given a long enough sentence. She said: “Whatever sentence would have been passed today would never have been enough.”
Investigating officer PC Paul Lidster said: “While this is a positive result, with Brown now facing time behind bars for his crime, this will never bring back Summer and our thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.
“We also recognise Jake’s strength, who is thankfully now recovering from his significant injuries. He and his family have understandably been tremendously affected by this incident and I hope that (the) hearing marks a further step forward in his recovery.
“Incidents of this nature demonstrate the horrific repercussions should a driver lose focus or shift their attention while driving.
“On this particularly sad occasion, one child lost their life and another is trying to rebuild theirs.
“Let this serve as a warning to any motorist that carelessness when driving can have fatal consequences and wherever we can, we will prosecute individuals who put lives at risk by driving dangerously or carelessly.”
Miss Seymour was a pupil at Bradfield School and its staff paid tribute to her in a statement issued following the crash.
It said: “Summer always had a smile on her face. She had a lovely sense of humour and often made staff laugh.
“Her caring personality meant that she was always keen to help out younger members of her form.“