Family wants longer sentence for driver

THE family of a woman who was killed by a courier driver who fell asleep while working has called on prosecutors to appeal the man’s two-year jail sentence.

The Kousar family wants the Lord Advocate James Wolffe, QC, to seek the imposition of a longer jail term on 60-year-old Stephen Clarke.

The motorist, of Wednesbury, West Midlands, was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday for his role in the December 2014 death of Farzana Kousar on the M74 near Lockerbie.

He had travelled more than 200 miles before ploughing into a Toyota in which Farzana had been travelling. The vehicle had stopped on the road’s hard shoulder.

He fell asleep at the wheel of his Mercedes Sprinter van, which drifted across the carriageways and killed Ms Kousar, who was 39 at the time of her death.

She repeatedly said “I’m dying” while lying injured on the busy roadside.

Judge Lord Boyd jailed Clarke after defence advocate Matt Jackson told the court his client was sorry for what he had done.

Lord Boyd also ordered Clarke, who pleaded guilty last December to causing death by dangerous driving, to be disqualified from driving for four years.

Lord Boyd said: “It is difficult to find words to describe the impact on Ms Kousar’s family and friends.

“I have read the victim statement prepared by Ms Kousar’s mother on behalf of the family. It makes heartbreaking reading. There is nothing I can do or say that can compensate them for their loss.”

However, the Kousar family, of Glasgow, objected to the sentence. In a statement following the hearing, they spoke of their anger at the “lenient decision”.

The statement said: “Mr Clarke will be out of jail soon enough. He’ll be able to go back to his family and enjoy their company. We will spend the rest of our lives grieving for the loss of our loved one.”