A JAGUAR driver fatally crashed into a pedestrian at high speed as he tried to overtake a learner driver on a blind bend.
Damien Walsh, 23, was driving “ridiculous” speeds in an uninsured sports car when he lost control and hit a pedestrian last year in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
The 23-year-old mechanic collided with George Pirtheesingh, 44, who suffered devastating injuries and tragically died at the scene.
Walsh had been driving his Jaguar XE R-Sport at speeds of over 70mph when he attempted to overtake a learner driver on a blind bend in October last year.
Mr Pirtheesingh, a civil engineer, had been walking to his local shop after returning from a holiday in Italy when the horror unfolded.
Bolton Crown Court heard how Walsh’s motor was uninsured at the time and how he had only passed his driving test less than a year before.
According to the car’s telematics, he was travelling 73mph just five seconds prior to the crash.
It was heard how Walsh had ignored all speed warning signs and traffic calming measures before he fatally struck Mr Pirtheesingh.
The road had a maximum speed limit of 30mph and Walsh had been driving carelessly through Westhoughton in dark and wet conditions.
Prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said he overtook a learner driver “aggressively” and ignored the “slow” sign on the road, according to the MailOnline.
A witness walking his dog said Walsh had been driving at “ridiculous speed”.
Walsh then reportedly lost control as he entered the bend and smashed into a wall.
The force of the collision was such that the motor bounced back into the carriageway and smashed into a post.
“The victim had been doing nothing more than buy produce from a shop and was walking home when struck by the car and pushed into street furniture causing the injuries,” Hayhoe said.
Caroline Smith, Mr Pirtheesingh’s partner, said in a personal victim statement: “George wasn’t just my partner, he was my soulmate, my best mate and the other part of me.”
On that fatal night, she revealed the pair had just returned from a “wonderful” trip to Florence, Italy.
She added they had ambitions to embark on a “trip of a lifetime” to Malaysia, had started house-hunting and were going to get a dog together.
But since her partner’s death, she was forced to step back as a frontline police officer and suffered from anxiety and PTSD.
Defending Walsh, David James said the defendant was “genuinely remorseful” and that it was a “burden that weighs heavily on him”.
He added that the car’s insurance had “lapsed” during a period of unemployment and had fully intended to insure the car when the funds were available.
“He did try to assist at the scene, but in that emotional environment he did stop assisting as clearly there was friction between others and his presence there,” he said.
Walsh was sentenced to seven years and eight months after he admitted to causing death by dangerous driving.
He will also be banned from driving for five years following his release.
Judge Nicholas Clarke KC told him that Mr Pirtheesingh was “tragically killed because you chose to drive dangerously”.
