Jailed, speeder who smashed into rider and killed her horse
A SPEEDING businessman has been jailed after blaming a teenage rider for damaging his car when he had just killed her beloved horse in a crash.
David Kobetic shouted “look what you have done to my car” after hitting Charlotte Pickett, 16.
Charlotte was returning her mount Archie to stables when she saw Kobetic’s Audi TT race towards them at twice the 30mph limit, a court heard.
She tried to warn him to slow down but he ploughed into her horse.
The teenager was sent flying on to the car but Kobetic swore and blamed her for the crash.
Kobetic, 52, of Bridgend, South Wales, was yesterday jailed for two years and banned from driving for 11 years after admitting dangerous driving.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that he claimed Charlotte was in the middle of a country lane in Coity, near Bridgend, in March last year when she was actually by the verge.
Richard Ace, prosecuting, said: “The driver was seen looking down and was not paying attention. Miss Pickett was waving her hand to try to get him to slow down. He did not and ploughed into the back of the horse, which went up into the air. She was not sure whether she lost consciousness but remembers seeing her horse staggering up the road.”
It suffered a fracture near its pelvis and died from its injuries shortly after the collision.
Charlotte had been given Archie as a Christmas present by her parents four years before. She said: “The driver killed Archie due to the force of the impact and I sustained injuries that still affect me.
“I have been distraught over the death of my horse. I was inconsolable and angry that the driver drove like an idiot. That horse was my best friend.”
The court heard that Kobetic’s wife called police months later when he allegedly drove after taking drugs.
Recorder Judge IWL Jones told Kobetic: “You are extremely lucky that someone did not die.”