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Jailed for death by dangerous driving.
http://www.northamptontoday.co.uk/ViewA ... ID=1721368

Northampton Today, 25 August 2006

A MOTORIST is today starting a four-year prison term after causing a crash which led to a pensioner dying from a heart attack 20 minutes after his vehicle was involved in the collision.

Brook Rush, of St Andrews Road, Semilong, Northampton, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

The crash, which led to the death of 76-year-old Ronald Mawby, happened on April 29 last year in Station Road, Long Buckby, after Rush had spent several hours drinking with work colleagues in a nearby pub.

Simon Carr, prosecuting, told the court that 22-year-old Rush was giving friends a lift home when the crash happened at about 7.45pm.

"Even from the beginning he was driving with excess speed. Those in the car were asking him to slow down."

"He was travelling at about 60mph. He approached a pedestrian crossing where there was a parked lorry and had to swerve at the last minute to go around the lorry."

But he drove into the back of a motorbike which was flung into the back windscreen of Mr Mawby's vehicle, shattering it, said Mr Carr.

Rush continued driving, despite protests from his passengers, and eventually let them out of the car near Long Buckby Station.

He was stopped by police officers in Harlestone Road, Northampton, at about 8pm after they noticed his damaged car and arrested him.

He was also found to be over the legal drink-drive limit.

Mr Mawby, who was vice-president of Long Buckby Rugby Club, was on his way to the club with his wife and two friends.

He appeared shaken when he got out of his car, but 20 minutes after the collision he collapsed from a heart attack and died.

Professor Jane Somerville, one of the top cardiologists in the country, said there was a direct link between the shock of the accident and Mr Mawby's death.

In mitigation, Ben Maguire said that Rush had showed considerable remorse for the accident.

Rush also pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and three offences of driving a vehicle with defective tyres.

He also had a previous conviction for driving while disqualified.

Sentencing him to four years in prison and disqualifying him from driving for five years, Judge Charles Wide said: "This was a very serious case of its kind. Records show that you tend to disregard the rules of the road."