‘He did it twice’ – one of the men responsible for fatal lorry crash was convicted of killing another pedestrian just FOUR years ago

Jacqueline Wileman was power-walking on a pavement in Common Lane, Brierley on September 14 last year, when a stolen lorry containing Karn Hill, Alan Mawhinney, David Mellor and Wayne Carroll hit the 58-year-old and killed her instantly. 

Hill was the driver of the vehicle, but The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, said each of the four men played a ‘pivotal role’ in the ‘highly dangerous criminal escapade’ that led to Mrs Wileman’s tragic death. 

Hill pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, while Mawhinney, Mellor and Carroll were found guilty of the same offence on Wednesday, following a two-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court. 

Judge Richardson jailed the four men for a combined total of 48-and-a-half years. 

During today’s sentencing hearing, the court was told how Carroll killed another pedestrian, 25-year-old Anthony Rhodes, in September 2014, when he hit Mr Rhodes in the village of Havercroft, near Wakefield while driving at speed in a vehicle he had no insurance for. 

Carroll was subsequently jailed for 27-months for causing death by dangerous driving, during a hearing held at Leeds Crown Court in 2015. 

You can view the court report from Carroll’s first conviction for causing death by dangerous driving here. 

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Wileman’s brother, Johnny Wood, said Carroll had ‘not learnt anything’ from the death of the first pedestrian he killed. 

"Such is a character like Carroll that he can come and do it twice. He killed a lad who were at Havercroft, I know friends of that lad, then he killed my sister, and Ryan and Kate's mother,” said Mr Wood, adding: "You talk about rehabilitation and things like that, and no, he's learnt nothing at all.” 

The court was told how each of the four defendants have numerous previous convictions, and Mr Wood said that if they had received tougher sentences none of them would have ‘been in the lorry’ on the day his sister was killed. 

"We all heard of their previous convictions, they should still be locked up, all four of them, they shouldn't have been in that lorry that day.

"Caused havoc, what they did to the family with that house, what they did to our family, to the three cars, to the petrol stations that they stole the fuel from. Running people off the road,” said Mr Wood. 

The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is currently 14 years, but the Government are considering increasing it to a term of life imprisonment. 

Mr Wood said a change in the law to increase the maximum sentence ‘couldn’t come soon enough,’ adding that the family did not feel as though justice had been done because of the maximum sentence Judge Richardson was able to impose. 

He said: “The judge is a competent man, which we've all seen, and our family praises him up, the job he's done has been absolutely brilliant, but he's restricted. 

"No judge should be restricted. If somebody commits a crime, and they feel as though the judge's sentence is too high, they've got a right to appeal, but we haven't, as a family, got a right to appeal, to go over those 14 years." 

Last month, Judge Richardson presided over the sentencing of the three men – Declan Bower, Jordan Bower and Mason Cartledge – responsible for killing four people and seriously injuring three others, during a crash in Darnall in November last year. 

Judge Richardson was once again bound by the maximum sentencing powers for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving, when he sentenced the 19-year-old driver, Elliott, to 11-and-a-half years for the deaths of four people. 

He sent his sentencing remarks to the Secretary of State of Transport, Chris Grayling MP, for consideration on whether a court ‘ should have the power to impose a higher level of custodial sentence’ than would be permitted by the current law. 

Judge Richardson told the court during today’s sentencing hearing: “It is my understanding that the Secretary of State for Transport is actively considering the introduction of proposed legislation to increase that maximum term in cases of this kind. It will be a matter for Parliament to decide whether that is appropriate. It would be incorrect for me to make any observation about that, beyond what I have stated in other cases of this kind and what has been stated by the Court of Appeal.”

The sentences for the four men responsible for causing Mrs Wileman’s death by dangerous driving: 

- Hill was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years 

- Mellor was sentenced to 13 years

- Carroll was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years 

- Mawhinney was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years