Dad-of-two killed by heroin driver
A DRUGGED-up van driver drowsy from heroin has been jailed for six-and-a-half years - after killing a South Yorkshire dad-of-two in a head-on crash.
Raja Khan, aged 46, slammed into 38-year-old Peter Jolley's Rover 214 after veering into the oncoming lane on a bend, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Khan's overloaded Ford Transit box van was more than a quarter heavier than it should have been when the smash happened on Packman Road, Brampton, Rotherham, on November 7 last year.
Mr Jolley, described in court as a "devoted parent" to sons Elliott, now seven, and Regan, just two, was on his way to work as a scaffolder. He died in hospital.
Khan, a convicted criminal with a record for supplying and possessing heroin, was not wearing a seat belt - but escaped with only minor bruises.
He is one of the first in the UK to be jailed under a new charge of causing death by careless driving, which came into force on Monday. Previously only causing death by dangerous driving could lead to jail, and careless drivers could only be fined.
But Mr Jolley's girlfriend of nine years, who attended court with her family, told The Star she was "not happy" with the sentence.
Lindsey Moule, of Middle Avenue, Rawmarsh, said: "Nothing can ever bring back Peter, and my children will have to grow up without their father.
"We are disappointed by the sentence, which we feel is not sufficient to reflect the loss, pain and suffering my children and I face every day."
She said she is still devastated by her partner's death.
"Peter went to work one day and never came back," she said. "He was devoted to the kids and a fine family man. My life has been turned upside down, everything is much harder, and I have two children to fetch up on my own."
Prosecutor Michael Slater said that after the crash Khan, who appeared to witnesses to be on drugs, accused Mr Jolley of being on the wrong side of the road and 'must have been asleep'. He was even seen texting, he claimed.
At the police station Khan, of Selbourne Street, Eastwood, Rotherham, gave a statement claiming he was innocent and fit to drive. He refused to answer questions that day, or when he returned on bail a month later.
But Mr Slater said a blood test proved he had taken heroin - consistent with Khan's admission he'd had a 10 'hit' at midnight the night before.
A witness driving behind Khan's van said it was 'wandering' across the road, he added.
A police investigation found it had failed to brake before the impact - made worse by the Northern Dairy Company van being 28 per cent overloaded with a cargo of milk.
Khan pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs. He was also banned from driving for eight years.
The hearing was told Khan, who came to the UK 17 years ago, had been jailed in 1999 for supplying heroin, and convicted in 2002 of possession.
He was fined last year for using a mobile phone at the wheel.
Dapinder Singh, defending, said the crash was the result of "a momentary lapse, rather than a long period of appalling driving" - but the judge said witness statements proved otherwise.
Judge Simon Lawler QC added: "Peter Jolley was a devoted parent and a hard working and responsible member of the community who was much loved by his family.
"It's perfectly clear that morning he was driving in a proper manner and is totally blameless. Mr Jolley had no chance to avoid a collision."
Khan stood hunched in the dock listening to an Urdu interpreter.
The judge told him: "You lied persistently, which must have caused the family real anguish in addition to their suffering.
"From your experience of dangerous drugs you must have known you were taking a real and criminal risk, and the devastating consequences of drowsiness are unhappily present for all to see."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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