Killer motorist has driving ban halved

A speeding motorist who knocked down a pensioner delivering papers has had his 10-year driving ban halved on appeal by top judges.

Shaun Anthony Baston, aged 25, had overtaken another car and was driving at "grossly excessive speed" when he hit 76-year-old Kenneth Rice as he attempted to cross Beacon Road in Pheasey, Walsall.

He had been driving at 67mph in a 30mph zone and sent Mr Rice, of Tyndale Crescent, Pheasey, flying through the air. Mr Rice's head then hit the windscreen of Baston's BMW as he attempted to screech to a halt, and the man was hurled onto the grass verge by the force of the impact. He died at the scene.

Baston, of Rippingale Road, Great Barr, was jailed for four years and banned from driving for 10 years in May, after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

But Lord Justice Maurice Kay, Mr Justice Sweeney and Mrs Justice Slade, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court yesterday, halved his driving ban saying it would have an unfair adverse impact on his family life after he is released. But they dismissed an appeal against the length of his jail term.

The court heard that Baston was so wracked with guilt following the accident that he attempted suicide, and was put on medication, having been diagnosed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Mrs Justice Slade said: "This was dangerous driving at a grossly excessive speed in a 30mph limit, a limit which is designed to protect pedestrians, and a pedestrian died. This appellant had a previous conviction for speeding two months before.

"Nothing the court can do could reduce the sense of loss and devastation that Mr Rice's family must feel. Baston was directly responsible for that man's death.

"He drove with disregard for the safety for other road users and driving at that high speed and in the manner he did made his culpability higher. Although he felt guilty, he sought to minimise his conduct."