A GRIEVING Evesham family have criticised the Government’s response to their petition set up in memory of a man killed in a hit-and-run in London.
Andrew Lindup, 36, was killed on December 15, 2016 by Daroush Fayaz who served just 61 days of an original six month sentence after pleading guilty to failing to stop.
A lack of witnesses to the incident meant no evidence was available to prosecute the 25-year-old for death by dangerous driving.
Following the trial, his heartbroken family called for a change in the law and, led by his sister Amy, set up a petition on the www.petition.parliament.uk website in a bid to put pressure on the Government to change the law.
The Observer reported last month how the family had reached the 10,000 signatures required for a response from the Government.
However they have been left devastated by the Department of Transport response to their plea which claimed the offence of failing to stop should not be used to punish someone for a serious, but not proven, offence.
“Under Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 drivers who cause personal injury or damage to another vehicle or property must stop and, if required, give their name and address, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle and any identification marks of the vehicle,” the response read.
“If the driver does not give their name and address they are obliged to report the accident to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours. A driver is liable to report even if they were not at fault. Failure to comply with these requirements is an offence which carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment.
“Failure to stop and report offences are often referred to as “hit and run” but this is often not an accurate reflection of the offence.
“The vast majority of the 3,441 convictions in 2017 for failure to stop and report offences involve low level traffic incidents where, for example, a driver clips the wing mirror of another vehicle in a narrow street. This is reflected in current sentencing practice where by far the most common sentence for this offence is a fine.
“In a small number of cases the failure to stop or report may be related to an incident involving the death or serious injury of another person. Where there is evidence that the driver caused harm there are a range of other offences available and the failure to stop will be treated as a further and aggravating factor in the sentencing decision.
“Where the driver takes action to avoid detection this may amount to perverting the course of justice, an offence which carries a life sentence maximum,” it concluded.
Andrew’s distraught sister Amy told the Observer the response was simply not good enough.
“How they can justify comparing my brother being hit and left to die to the same charge of clipping the wing mirror of another vehicle?,” she said.
“It’s ridiculous. I am working out what I need to do next, I will not let this rest.”
