Christine Smeaton jailed for 4 years after knocking down estranged husband

Oct 15 2009 By Joanne Douglas

A WOMAN who revved up a car and deliberately knocked down her husband has been jailed for four years.

Mother-of-two Christine Smeaton, of Sandene Avenue, Crosland Moor, was found guilty on "overwhelming" evidence after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Smeaton knocked down her 51-year-old husband, Frank Hunt, last May then attempted to reverse the car back over him but got stuck on a grass verge.

The 54-year-old then attempted to find him while holding a hammer.

Smeaton, who has since been divorced from Mr Hunt, had denied being the driver of Peugeot 106 which mounted the pavement and hit him as he walked along Newsome Road in May last year.

The jury heard there had been previous incidents of violence between the couple.

She had started a relationship with another man, but in May last year she took her new partner’s car and drove from Glasgow to Huddersfield.

Smeaton rang Mr Hunt saying that she still loved him and they went out to a pub in Newsome.

But Judge James Stewart, QC, said when Mr Hunt left his wife’s flat after an argument she got in the Peugeot and went looking for him.

"You saw him. You revved up and increased your speed," said Judge Stewart.

"You drove down Newsome Road and deliberately veered left onto the pavement in order to run him down.

"He saw you coming too late. He managed to take some evasive action and if he hadn’t, you could have killed him."

Mr Hunt suffered a fractured right ankle and fractured right hand in the collision and he estimated that the car was doing 30mph when it hit him.