A SECOND judge has questioned why a hit-and-run driver has not been charged with killing student Adam O’Toole.
Brett Kingsley from Oldham was behind the wheel of the Rover 200 car that ran down the 18-year-old on New Hey Road in Salendine Nook on March 6, 2007.
Adam, who went to nearby Huddersfield New College and lived at Woodhead Road in Holmbridge, died at the scene from head injuries.
Kingsley, 25, drove off after the incident and later told his family, Oldham police and his insurers his car had been damaged in an accidental collision in a car park.
He received a £700 insurance pay-out – minus the £420 excess on his policy – and the car was disposed of.
Kingsley was only tracked down when officers investigating Adam’s death received a tip-off in February of this year.
He was initially arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but will now be sentenced for a single offence of perverting the course of justice in relation to the lie he told about the damage to his car.
In June when Kingsley pleaded guilty to that charge at Bradford Crown Court, Judge Jonathan Rose asked why he was not facing a more serious allegation.
At a hearing at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Alistair McCallum also questioned the case.
He said: “Has someone approved that he should only be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice?
He added: “The sort of sentence I’m going to be limited to is going to ignore the death of the victim.”
Dave Mackay, prosecuting, told the judge that, on the basis of witness statements and evidence from the time, a charge of death by dangerous driving would not be appropriate.
He said the charge of death by careless driving which he could have faced did not exist in 2007.
He added: “The difficulty we have, and I have spoken at length with the deceased’s family, is that had this offence occurred last week or the week before that and had he (Kingsley) stopped or co-operated, the offence would have been death without due care.”
Kingsley was due to be sentenced yesterday for perverting the course of justice.
The case was adjourned until tomorrow, but the judge heard the prosecution’s opening statement.
Mr Mackay described how witnesses had seen Adam cross the road towards a gap between parked cars, just below the pedestrian crossing on New Hey Road.
After being hit by Kingsley’s car in the 30mph zone, he was thrown onto the roof of a BMW car and then onto the pavement.
Mr Mackay said the weather was fine and visibility was good.
“It was said that the maximum speed this defendant achieved was no more than 39mph,” he added.
“The defendant’s account is that, having collided, he initially stopped but then panicked and drove home to Oldham.”
After keeping up the lie for nearly three years, Kingsley was visited at home by police on February 5.
Mr Mackay said: “He sat in silence for some time, then began shaking and crying. They asked him if he was responsible and he said: ‘It was me, I panicked.’”
In an interview, Kingsley said he had been driving at 30mph, but was increasing his speed as he approached the 40mph zone.
“He said the lights were green and Adam had stepped out and he couldn’t avoid him,” Mr Mackay said.
In a statement, Adam’s girlfriend, Laura Davidson, said Adam was her “soulmate and the man who did everything right for her.”
They had planned to buy a house together after he finished university and had even spoken about having children.
“She feels her life ended that day,” Mr Mackay said.
Adam’s mother, Beverley, said she turned to anti-depressants and alcohol to help her cope.
Mr Mackay said: “She says she even considered ending her own life, but it’s the memory of Adam that keeps her going.”
He said Kingsley had put Adam’s loved ones through “three years of torment.”
Christopher Tehrani, representing Kingsley, said he would be arguing that his client should be given a suspended prison sentence when Judge McCallum sentences himtomorrow.
After the hearing, Laura Davidson criticised the delay.
She said: “It’s like they don’t realise how important this is to us.”
