Learner driver jailed after killing Leeds girl | Winston Solicitors
Legal news

Learner driver jailed after killing Leeds girl

Jonathan Winston Jonathan Winston
2 min read

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has said a jail sentence of two years for a learner driver on her first lesson, sends out a strong message to those learning to drive, that they have a responsibility to the people around them.

Mr Justice Openshaw, at Leeds Crown Court, on passing sentence, said that Beatrice Mawamba had been “profoundly ignorant” of the most basic driving skills, being unaware even of putting a car into gear and not being able to find the brake pedal. He said that a custodial sentence was necessary to show that it is anti-social to drive a car without having any idea how to control it.

The court heard that Mrs Mawamba had only had online theory lessons but had never actually driven a car when she went out with her husband in Chapeltown, Leeds at the end of May. Being unable to find the brake she lost control and the car went down an alley where it killed nine-year-old Shamirah Grant and injured two other girls, one seriously.

Mawamba admitted to causing death by dangerous driving and, as well as the two years imprisonment, was banned for driving for five years and will have to take an extended test when the ban elapses.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said that the horrendous case proves how dangerous a car can be when it is in the wrong hands. She said that, before starting private practice lessons, a learner should have mastered basic car control skills.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/dec/21/learner-driver-jailed-killing-girl

 

Client feedback

We couldn’t recommend Samantha Robertson-Strong enough. She made the whole process of buying our first property so much easier and would recommend her to people I know.Thanks Again Samantha and the Winstons team!
Mr Atherton
Joe and Amr were good at keeping contact and answering my questions as a first time buyer. The solicitor on the other side of the purchase was not always responsive, though Joe/Amr made sure to keep chasing which I appreciated. Overall smooth process and would recommend.
Amber
Absolutely incredible! Exceeded all expectations, very professional.
Michael
It is probably 45+ years since I last bought a house so it was a real re-learning process. Michelle was helpful and pateint throughout. She kept me fully informed of the prgress being made and all the responses from her enquiries to the other party were detailed. Both sides were under pressure to complete before April when further tax increases loomed. It was also the pressure that I would be heading to France to oversee the sale of my property. The only 'blip' that I saw was the query of my funding. It was simply the transfer of the funds from the sale of my home in France to cover the sale in Leeds. This was accepted. I had requested Sterling and not Euros and perhaps that did raise an eyebrow or two. I would have no rpblem in recommending Winstons.
Roger
Outstanding from start to finish. Leasa was fabulous, professional and thorough throughout. Would highly recommend to anyone. We honestly cannot Thankyou enough for getting us into our family home.
Natalie
Winston solicitors are experts at what they do. They go above and beyond the normal service to provide you with the best interest for you. I cannot thank Emily for her commitment and resilience on answering every question i had asked. She is a great assest ti Winston solicitors and a credit to her team. I would love to work with Emily again in the furture if required to do so. Would not hesiste to reccommend winston solicitors to everyone.
Ishtiaq
Amazing service from Sidraa with support from Tom. Timely communication, easy to deal with and thorough. Sidraa went over and above to meet our deadlines and was so personable to deal with. Would 100% recommend.
Sophie
Both Samantha and Michelle at Winstons Solicitors have been brilliant keeping us informed with the selling and buying of our houses. If there were any problems they explained what was happening and also put our minds at rest.... as moving is stressful enough.will definitley use again in the future as we were impressed with the company and service.
Craig
Contact Jonathan