Crash wreck takes justice fight to capital
THE wreckage of a car involved in a horror smash in which a young man was killed in Rochdale has been paraded past Parliament.
Joseph Brown-Lartey, 25, was killed instantly when a hired Audi A6 being driven by 19-year-old Addil Haroon ran a red light and ploughed into him.
Haroon was sentenced to six years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving, but is likely to serve just three, a sentence slammed by Joseph’s parents as being too lenient.
They took the car to London as part of their ‘Justice for Joseph’ campaign for stiffer sentences for road crimes.
THE wreckage of a car involved in a horror smash with a driver dubbed the ‘Snapchat killer’ has been paraded past Parliament as part of a campaign for tougher sentences.
Joseph Brown-Lartey, 25, was killed instantly when the hired Audi A6 being driven by 19 year-old Addil Haroon ran a red light at a busy crossroads and ploughed into him in Rochdale.
The previous day Haroon had taken a picture on the mobile phone app Snapchat of his speedometer on the M62 at 142mph boasting he had driven from Leeds to Rochdale in just 11 minutes. The force of the crash was so much that Joseph’s car, also an Audi, split into two.
Haroon was sentenced to six years for causing death by dangerous driving, although he is likely to serve just three. The case was referred to the Attorney General, but he ruled it was not ‘unduly lenient’ and was in line with current guidelines.
Joseph’s parents, Dawn and Ian, have since launched a campaign called ‘Justice for Joseph,’ calling for the government to review the guidelines and introduce stiffer sentences for road crimes. At the weekend, as part of the campaign, the wreckage of Joseph’s car was put on public display for the first time. Joseph’s parents were joined by other bereaved families, MPs supporting calls for change, and representatives from the road safety charity Brake at an event in Hyde Park. They have previously handed a petition calling for change, containing more than 20,000 signatures, to Downing Street.
Ian and Dawn BrownLartey said: “We will never get over the loss of our beautiful son Joseph, who had his whole life ahead of him. Hearing that his killer will serve half of a six-year sentence was a further slap in the face to us and our family.
“The law needs to change so that sentences for causing death by dangerous driving reflect the crime.
“We can’t bring Joseph back, but what we can do is campaign in his name to stop other families going through what we are. Joseph’s car was split in two. The emergency services said it was the worst road crash they had ever seen. We want people to see that devastation first hand in the hope of educating young drivers but also to hit home with the government the importance of our campaign.”
Heywood and Middleton MP Liz McInnes said: “The very least that they deserve is the knowledge that their son’s killer is serving a sentence which fits the crime.”
Gary Rae, of Brake, the road safety charity, said: “There are too many families, like the Brown-Larteys, who suffer the double trauma of losing a loved one in a sudden and violent way, and then witness the judicial system turning its back on them. That’s why we’re launching our Roads to Justice campaign, which calls on government to get tough on criminal drivers who kill or seriously injure others.”