THEY had gone to see justice for a young woman.
But grieving relatives of Kayleigh Sylvester said they felt only “disgust”, after the man who killed the 24-year-old walked free from court.
Anthony Morrison, who admitted causing her death through careless driving, was given a 100-hour community service order and a driving ban after a judge ruled his case was in the lowest category of such offences.
But Kayleigh’s aunt, Liona Williams, said: “Giving him community service is basically saying that if you kill somebody you get a slap on the hand.
“It’s a slap on the hand for him, but it’s a slap in the face for us.”
Ms Williams, of Brackenhall, spoke out after visiting Kayleigh’s grave with the dead girls’s mother, Tracey, only hours after the court case.
They and other family members and friends had walked out in tears before the judge sentenced Morrison, a sales manager at a car firm.
“It’s absolutely disgusting – there’s no law at all if this can happen, and that’s why so many people don’t believe in the law.
“We weren’t expecting him to get years and years, but he’s taken a life and he’s killed somebody.
“We thought it would be a couple of years at least that he’d get– but this is a disgrace.”
Click here to read our full report from the court.
Liona said Kayleigh’s whole family were “devastated” that Morrison was not given jail time by a judge at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.
Morrison was given a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work.
He knocked down Kayleigh, 24, when he failed to see her crossing Leeds Road, Bradley Mills, almost a year ago.
He was travelling at no less than 38mph on the 30mph road and later pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Kayleigh died in hospital after being struck by Morrison’s car as she crossed Leeds Road – near the Yorkshire Rose pub – on March 18 last year.
Her family, in Town Crescent, Bradley Mills, have been left devastated by her death.
They remember Kayleigh for her gorgeous smile.
Kayleigh’s mum Tracey visited her daughter’s graveside yesterday with Liona after hearing the “devastating” news.
Tracey – who has been battling cancer while trying to come to terms with Kayleigh’s death – was too upset to speak to the Examiner. She merely said she was “devastated”.
Kayleigh had Asperger’s Syndrome and was a client of Active Social Care, Newsome, where she also had a part-time kitchen job.
She had been involved with Active for more than two years and featured in a DVD made for the Kirklees Learning Disability website about her employment.
