Man Admits Causing Death of Dad In Walton
A speeding driver who killed a man while he was walking his dog in Walton has been jailed for 8 years.
51-year-old Richard Bratin was hit alongside his pet on Richard Kelly Drive, Walton on December the 18th
27 year old John MGee of Norris Green, sped off and went into hiding while police launched a major investigation.
Liverpool Crown Court was told the Ford Focus McGee was driving had its lights switched off when the tragedy occurred,
He today pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop after an accident
McGee appeared by video link from prison and repeatedly sobbed during the hearing in a court packed with the victim’s devastated friends and family.
In the dock was his girlfriend, personal banker Abbie Freel, who admitted helping an offender by driving him in her car to Blackpool. The court heard that McGee handed himself into police three days later.
Judge Clement Goldstone, QC said, “The facts of the case reveal an appalling disregard for road safety, the law and for life - apart that is from your own.”
He said that Mr Bratin, who had been due to receive a reward for his voluntary work with the terminally ill, and his dog died almost instantaneously.
“One can only be thankful that Mr Bratin’s death was swift and I express the sincere halt that he did not suffer.”
The judge banned McGee from driving for ten years and sentenced 21-year-old Freel, of East Lancashire Road, Norris Green, to four months imprisonment suspended for 18 months. He told Freel, who has no previous convictions, she should have had the moral fibre to withstand the pressure McGee had placed her under.