Driver jailed for hit-and-run death
Date published: 08 June 2011
A HIT-AND-RUN driver who knocked down an Oldham man crossing the road in front of his horrified young daughter, has been jailed for 18 months.
Wayne Leary was thrown into the air when the car, driven by 37-year-old Colin McDonald, hit him on Easter Saturday last year.
He was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries, but died the following day — just three days before his daughter Aimee’s 11th birthday.
Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told that McDonald, who is currently serving an extended prison sentence for violent assault, was uninsured and had never held a driving licence.
He swerved to avoid Mr Leary, who had been attempting to cross Oldham Road near to the Crown and Cushion pub in Failsworth, but he did not brake. He fled on foot after stopping the car further down the road, even though police were at the scene.
Sentencing him, judge Stephen Lowcock said: “You had absolutely no business being behind the wheel of that car. You had never held a licence and were not insured.”
He said nobody who had read statements made by Aimee, now 12, and her grandfather Thomas could fail to have sympathy for their appalling loss.
“Though no sentence I can pass will bring him back, I am bound to pass a sentence that reflects the seriousness of this offence,” he said.
McDonald, of Acre Street, Denton, had been due to go on trial having pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving, but dramatically changed his plea at the last minute after his counsel asked the trial judge for an indication of the likely sentence.
The court had been told that Mr Leary, who lived in Hollinwood and worked for Greggs bakery in Openshaw, had been on his way home with his daughter after watching Manchester United on April 3 last year.
Mr Leary had drunk around eight pints in a pub and had decided to order a takeaway meal for them both.
He crossed the road to jot down the telephone number of a takeaway shop, and was about to return to where his daughter was standing on the opposite pavement, when the Kia Picanto driven by McDonald came into view.
Virginia Hayton, prosecuting, said Mr Leary stepped out into the road, then seemed to speed up in a bid to cross, but was hit by the vehicle.
She said the Crown would say McDonald was driving too fast, though there was evidence to support his claim to have been within the 30mph limit on the road.
After the collision, he drove on for 100 metres before stopping. He was seen getting out, looking back to the scene of the accident and putting his hands to his head.
The court was told that he left, fearing for his own safety as a crowd of people had begun to gather, but 36 hours later he gave himself up to police.
Michael Johnson, defending, said: “A culmination of fateful events led to Mr Leary losing his life. This was a tragic accident.”
McDonald has a lengthy record and is currently serving a 10-year jail term for assault.
Judge Lowcock said he took account of a number of relevant factors including the amount Mr Leary had had to drink on the night, the fact that he was wearing dark clothing, could have used a near-by pedestrian crossing and put himself in the path of the oncoming car.
He gave McDonald credit for a guilty plea which spared Aimee, who lives with her mother, Julie, in Newton Heath, the ordeal of having to relive the tragedy in court.
McDonald was sentenced to 18 months for causing death by careless driving, eight months concurrent for having no licence, and a eight months concurrent for having no insurance.
