Driver who killed Huddersfield student in hit-and-run while on drugs jailed

A driver who killed a university student in a hit-and-run crash while on drugs has been jailed.

Oliver Pryde was hit by Adam Smith's Vauxhall Corsa on Penistone Road, Huddersfield, on 12 July 2021. The 18-year-old was thrown into the path of another car in the carriageway.

Smith, from Huddersfield, fled the scene but was arrested a short time later.

He was nearly twice the legal limit for drugs and was unlicensed and uninsured.

The 33-year-old was charged with causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs and while unlicensed and uninsured. 

Smith denied the offences but was found guilty after a six-day trial at Leeds Crown Court.

He was jailed for 10 years and banned from driving for nine years. 

Mr Pryde, from Cumbria, was the eldest of four children and studying maths at Huddersfield University. 

His heartbroken family said there was "no justice" over his death.

His mother Stacey, said: "Oliver wanted to become a maths teacher at his old secondary school. His words were that he wanted to teach others and inspire the next generation.

"No justice will ever be served in my eyes. I am left with a lifetime without Oliver and I’m left trying to rebuild the family that this person broke."

Det Con Mark Turner, of West Yorkshire Police, said Smith's actions left Oliver’s family and friends "devastated and deprived Oliver of a promising future".

"I hope this highlights the dangers and consequences of drug driving," he said.

"We welcome the sentence that has been handed down and hope it acts as a deterrent to others."

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