Killer drivers could soon be given life sentences - two years after death of South Yorkshire woman hit by stolen lorry

Barnsley East MP Stephanie Peacock and Barnsley Central Mp Dan Jarvis have co-sponsored a bill that, if passed, will see the maximum jail sentence for those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving increased.

The bill, which would see the current 14-year maximum sentence for the offence scrapped, was first presented by former Prime Minister Theresa May.

It seeks to amend the 1988 Road Traffic Offenders Act, making life imprisonment a possibility for offenders convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

The bill follows a long campaign by the family of Jaqueline Wileman, from Grimethorpe, who was 58 when she was struck and killed by a stolen HGV on Common Road, Brierley, in September 2018.

Driver Karn Hill, then aged 23, admitted causing death by dangerous driving, while passengers David Mellor, 48, Wayne Carroll, 29, and Alan Mawhinney, 53, were found guilty by a jury.

The men were given jail sentences between 10-and-a-half and 13 years.

Stephanie Peacock has worked alongside Jaquline's family to lobby the government for increased jail time for offenders.

She said: “It is an outrage the sentencing guidelines do not reflect the devastation felt by families whose loved ones have been taken away from them too soon.

"The sentence for causing death by dangerous driving should be life. I’m proud to have campaigned alongside Jackie’s family to change the law and get her loved ones justice. This Bill is the first step towards making our roads safer.”

Dan Jarvis added: "Dangerous drivers who, through their own reckless action, take the lives of others must face tougher sentences that the ones currently handed out.”

“I have been a very long-standing campaigner on this issue and welcome this Bill as an important step towards ensuring that dangerous drivers face justice.”

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