A SPEEDING driver who knocked down and killed a pensioner as he crossed the road has been spared jail.
Lewis Snelgrove, of Woodhall Road, Chelmsford, had picked a colleague up from Chelmsford train station on the morning of June 10 2011.
As he was driving his white Ford Fiesta along Springfield Road at around 8am, he struck 74-year-old Thurlo Haile, of Oaklea Avenue, who had been out to buy his morning paper and had crossed in front of him.
The 23-year-old engineer, who works at Laser Electrical Services in Springfield, was arrested at the scene and charged with causing death by careless driving, to which he pleaded guilty last month.
Dressed in a suit and visibly upset, Snelgrove appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced.
Prosecuting, Inyundo Kwame, said: "Springfield Road is lined with commercial properties as well as homes and Mr Haile lived close by.
"Mr Haile was crossing the road having bought a paper, as he often did.
"Unfortunately he was killed on impact with the defendant's car."
The court also heard that, according to expert evidence, Snelgrove was likely to be travelling at between 35 and 37mph in a 30mph zone.
"Springfield Road is a restricted road. It is also a road where there are no designated pedestrian crossings," said Mr Kwame.
"The defendant would have known that there was a need to watch out for pedestrians. This was a route he took to work every day."
Snelgrove, who lost his father to a sudden heart attack as a teenager, expressed remorse for what happened that morning last summer.
As part of his mitigation, court officer Gail Jarman said: "I interview many people for the purposes of preparing reports for the court. Many people express remorse for their actions but I can quite honestly say that it has been a very long time since someone has shown as much remorse or insight to the impact of the victim or the victim's family."
Ms Jarman quoted Snelgrove as saying: "I know exactly what it feels like to lose your dad.
"I know how this family must be feeling. I'm not blaming him at all but he just stepped out. It was so quick – like in a second."
She added: "He's petrified of going to prison. He said he will do anything as an alternative."
Before sentencing, Judge Christopher Ball QC addressed Snelgrove.
"This is a novel experience for you, for your family, friends, and for Mr Haile's family and friends," he said.
"It's one of those rare occasions where everyone involved in the criminal case comes from thoroughly decent, hard-working, respectable backgrounds. "Regrettably, cases like this aren't rare to the court.
"Mr Haile may have been 74, but he wasn't an old man. He was leading the sort of life that gives hope to all of us.
"You are a young man who, again, have been leading an industrious life. Your life, although much shorter, has been a credit to you as well.
"So, what's a court to do? How should it punish someone who, in so many respects, has been leading a blameless life?"
Snelgrove sobbed as he was told he would not be going to jail.
He received a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years, 240 hours' unpaid work, a disqualification from driving for three years and an order to pay £2,400 in costs.
In a letter to the court, described by Judge Ball as "magnificent", Mr Haile's widow Jean said: "I hope the young man involved in my husband's death will be able to overcome this tragedy and lead a normal, happy life."
