A man has been jailed for more than nine years after causing the death of another driver in Lichfield.
Marius Mihai, 36, from Walsall, was driving a VW Passat on 23rd December last year on the A5 at Wall.
He collided with a Ford Fiesta just after 10.20pm on the Wall Island roundabout.
The driver of the Fiesta, Richard Allen from Lichfield, died at the scene. The 33-year-old was due to get married on New Year’s Eve.
Specialist officers analysed CCTV footage and found that Mihai was driving on the A5 in excess of 110mph immediately before the collision happened. He was also under the influence of alcohol and on a video WhatsApp call at the point of the crash.
Mihai had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in an earlier appearance and was sentenced to nine years and eight months behind bars at Stafford Crown Court yesterday (6th November). He was also banned from driving for 137 months.
PC Matt Brailsford from the Staffordshire and West Midlands Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:
“Mihai drove at a dangerous speed, while intoxicated and while using his mobile phone. If he was driving responsibly, this avoidable incident wouldn’t have happened.
“His actions have devastated the family of Richard and our thoughts are still very much with them as they continue to come to terms with their tragic loss.
“No sentence will ever be sufficient for the family but I hope that Mihai understands that his actions have consequences, and in this case, tragic ones.
“Speed, alcohol and mobile phone use are three of the four main reasons for fatal collisions. I would implore people to ensure they drive safely and responsibly so that families like that of Mr Allen do not have their lives destroyed.“
PC Matt Brailsford, Staffordshire Police
Nine years in prison and a 137 month ban from driving seems like a light punishment for what he did. Being found guilty of death by dangerous driving should come with a life ban for driving. He’ll have driven dangerously lots of times before he killed someone and got caught. There’s no reason to ever let him have a driving licence again.
I totally agree Norman. In truth he will only serve half of the sentence because he pleaded guilty. This does not give justice to the victims and family, it just saves the police and court a bit of work. The guidelines for sentencing seem to be interpreted in many ways with little consistency. 137 months driving ban? Where is the sense in that?
Except for the crimes that catch the news headlines few criminals are given adequate punishment. In truth there is no justice. We are becoming a lawless society.
What always makes no sense to me is a driving ban starts immediately. So although the ban was 137 months then 9 (or 4.5 if half the sentence is served) of those years will be while he is in prison.
“Under current rules, a driving ban runs concurrently to a prison sentence, so if a person receives a 4 year disqualification but has to serve a five year prison sentence for death by dangerous driving, it means that the ban could have been served by the time they are released.”
I’ve read cases where the driving ban is less than the time in prison. So the ban is served before release. All that is then required is a new driving test after release.