Motorist who killed 16 year-old 'shouldn't have been behind wheel'

A motorist, who 'should not have been behind the wheel' killed a 16-year-old Wirral boy after probably suffering an 'epileptic episode', a court heard this afternoon.

The victim, Connor Smith, an apprentice joiner, was on his way to work at on January 31 when Andrew Williams drove into him as he stood on the pavement on Old Chester Road at the junction with Bedford Avenue, Rock Ferry.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Williams, 49, from Rock Ferry, was on his way home from his shift at Vauxhall Motors and knew that he had 'petit mal' epilepsy and had not slept for 19 and a half hours.

Rob Jones prosecuting described how Williams went through red traffic lights at the junction in a diagonal direction at between 50 and 59 miles an hour along the 30 mph road.

He mounted the pavement and struck the teenager who had no chance to get out of the way.

The car careered on along the wrong side of the road eventually becoming embedded in a sandstone wall and Williams, who suffered various fractures, was trapped in his vehicle.

He today pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years four months and banned from driving for six years eight months and must take an extended test before he can get back behind the wheel.

The victim’s heartbroken mum, Sharon Smith read a moving an impact statement telling of her grief at losing her middle son, leaving many in the crowded courtroom, including the defendant’s partner, in tears.

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said that Connor, who did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead in hospital less than two hours later from “catastrophic” injuries, “did not really stand any chance of survival at all.”

He told Williams:

Williams, who has no previous convictions, had been advised by his GP in October 2015 not to drive and the following January a neurologist told him to tell the DVLA about his condition but he never did so.

The court heard that his symptoms, including forgetting what he was doing and lack of awareness, had been increasing and defence lawyer John Rowan said that remorseful Williams accepts he should have told the DVLA and stopped driving.