Pensioner jailed for killing three-year-old

Wednesday, 22 March 2017 07:00

A pensioner has been sentenced to four years in prison after knocking down and killing a three-year-old girl as she walked over a pedestrian crossing last summer.

John Place was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday the 20^th of March after he hit Poppy-Arabella Rose Clarke with his Volkswagen Passat as she pushed her bike across Chester Road in Boldmere on the 6^th of July 2016.

The traffic lights were red at the time and the green man was flashing for pedestrians. Poppy was treated by paramedics at the scene but tragically died later in hospital.

Place’s car also collided with Poppy-Arabella’s mother Rachel Clarke, leaving her with serious injuries. She had been walking next to her daughter as she crossed the road.

Place pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at a hearing on the 3^rd of March.

A police investigation found that he had been told just weeks before that his vision was no longer good enough for him to drive, even with his glasses on. When he hit Poppy-Arabella and Rachel Clarke he was not wearing glasses and told officers he had not seen the red light or the crossing itself.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the regional Collision Investigation Unit, said: "I hope that this case sends out a message to all drivers that you have a personal responsibility to heed medical advice and to ensure you are fit to get behind the wheel."

The 72-year-old was also disqualified from driving for five years from the date of his release from prison.

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