A judge has ruled that an unlicensed driver who hit and killed an elderly lady 'bears no responsibility' for her death.
Chichester Crown Court in West Sussex heard how 19-year-old Dmitrijs Jasvins, who held no valid drivers licence or young driver car insurance, struck Amelia Wilkins, 77, as she was crossing the road.
Jasvins, who works in a local biscuit factory, didn't stop in spite of a shattered windscreen and Mrs Wilkins' shopping cart caught under his front bumper. Panicking, he drove the wrong way round a roundabout before abandoning his car to seek advice.
The court heard that Jasvins "didn't know if it was a stone, a person or something falling from the sky that he had hit." He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving without a licence or young driver car insurance and failing to stop.
"You bear no responsibility for Mrs Wilkins' death," said Judge John Sessions, who sentenced Jasvins to just seven months in prison and a two year driving ban. "This needs to made clear if there is to be public understanding of the sentence."
Jasvins will have to pass an extended driving test before he is ever legally allowed back on UK roads, and the chance of him being offered a cheap car insurance quote when that time comes is remote in the extreme.