Uninsured Walsall driver's sentence for hitting and killing baby increased to 10 years
An uninsured driver who hit and killed an 18-day-old baby in Walsall has had his prison sentence increased.
In April 2022, James Davis was sentenced to six years and six months’ imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving.
Today, the Court of Appeal found his original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased his jail time to 10 years in prison.
Davis, from Croxtalls Avenue in Walsall, was driving a BMW 1 Series 116d on April 4 last year, when he "drifted" onto the wrong side of the road and hit Ciaran Leigh Morris, who was being pushed along the Brownhills high street pavement by his parents.
The 35-year-old abandoned the car and immediately fled the scene, while the eighteen-day-old baby was taken to hospital, where his injuries were too severe to survive.
His mother also suffered a broken collar bone.
Around 40 minutes later, he called police to tell them what he had done.
Davis denied causing Ciaran's death by dangerous driving, and claimed to have blacked out at the wheel, saying he could not remember hitting Ciaran's pram.
After the crash, Davis ran off and told a passer-by he "had killed a baby and was going down for a long time".
The trial heard Davis, who had a teenage passenger, had been travelling at 67mph in a 30mph zone shortly before the fatal crash.
In court, Davis accepted reaching 67mph in a 30mph area but said he was driving within the speed limit when the crash occurred.
Davis was using his mobile phone when he hit the baby. He was also driving without insurance and under the influence of cannabis.
He then fled the scene before handing himself in to the police.
Watch the moment on CCTV when Davis fled the scene in Brownhills:
Days after Davis was sentenced earlier this year, the West Midlands Mayor called for the sentence of Davis who hit and killed a two-week-old baby in his pram in Walsall to be reviewed.
Andy Street said at the time that "it's not right" Davis has been jailed for six-and-a-half-years while Ciaran's family "will never get to see their baby grow up".
He added on social media that Davis has "35 previous convictions including drink-driving, was speeding and most likely using his phone when he crashed into 18-day-old Ciaran Morris".
The Attorney General Suella Braverman QC MP said: "Today my thoughts are with the family of Ciaran Morris, who was tragically killed by the criminally dangerous driving of James Davis.
"While no sentence can repair the damage caused by Davis’ actions, I welcome the decision of the Court to impose a sentence that better reflects the dreadful offending that has taken place.”