Gang getaway driver jailed after crushing have-a-go-hero
THE getaway driver for a burglary gang which struck in Brighouse has been jailed for four-and- a-half years after a workman was crushed by their van.
Derek Wilson and his colleagues had chased after the vehicle as the gang tried to leave Key Sales Limited in Birds Royd Mill, Brighouse, last December.
But the driver, 27-year-old James Lowther, of Dulverton Close, Beeston, Leeds, stopped the van and suddenly reversed towards their pursuers crushing the helpless 53-year-old against another stationary vehicle.
Recorder Amanda Rippon was yesterday shown the horrific CCTV footage of the moment the van trapped Mr Wilson before it drove away leaving him in excruciating pain on the ground.
Recorder Rippon said Mr Wilson and the other staff had been trying to stop the van lawfully, but Lowther had deliberately reversed it at them in temper and anger.
She said the collision with Mr Wilson must have been horrific to witness and told Lowther that he had used the large van as a weapon.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Mr Wilson, a married man, of Greetland, had suffered various injuries including a fractured wrist and an open dislocation of the knee.
He spent 16 days in hospital undergoing three operations and is still off work six months on.
In a victim impact statement Mr Wilson said he now felt permanently disabled and the court heard that he faced further possible surgery and may never regain full movement in his wrist or knee as a result of his injuries.
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