A3 death crash driver fails to have sentence cut

A DRINK-DRIVER who caused two motorists' deaths after?speeding at up to 100mph?on the A3 between Cobham and Esher has failed to convince judges to cut his 11-year jail sentence.

Lawyers for Deane Girdler unsuccessfully challenged his?prison term at the Appeal Court in London on Friday last week (November 5).

It was imposed for two counts of causing death by dangerous driving after the pile-up on January 19, 2008, which killed Weybridge cab driver, Preston Trueick, 61, and Catherine Cunningham, 67, from Liphook.

Girdler, of Fullmer Way, Woodham, who smelt of alcohol in the aftermath of the crash, was convicted at Kingston Crown Court in March this year.?He was also banned from the road for 10 years.

Lord Justice Gross, sitting with Mr Justice Ramsey and Mr Justice Hedley, said the 45-year-old hit speeds of around 100mph as he approached the scene of the tragedy at Copsem Lane.

Other motorists had been alarmed by his erratic driving, the court heard, tipping off police after seeing him veer across lanes, tailgate cars and drive with palpably slowed reactions.

The double tragedy came when Girdler, who was living in Cobham at the time, hit the back of Mr Trueick's cab, skittling it across the?carriageway so that it straddled the central reservation.

Mr Trueick was struggling to flee from his taxi?when?Mrs Cunningham's oncoming car smashed into it.

Lord Justice Gross said Girdler “smelt strongly of drink” when he emerged from his own car, but repeatedly failed to provide a breath specimen for analysis.

Letters from both victims' families spoke of the "devastating" effect of their deaths, said the judge.

Both letters also referred to the total lack of remorse shown by Girdler.

Given the horrific facts of the case, an 11-year jail term "cannot be described as manifestly excessive", the appeal judge concluded.

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Woking park attacker fails in sentence appeal bid

A BARMAN who knocked a teenager unconscious when he punched him twice during an attack in Woking Park?last year?has failed in a bid to have his prison sentence reduced.

Carl Betts, 22, was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Guildford Crown Court in August after pleading guilty to assault causing?grievous bodily harm.

He punched 17-year-old Kirby Pearce twice in the head on November 26 last year, causing?near fatal injuries which could take?the victim?up to three years to fully recover from.

At the Court of Appeal on Monday (November 1),?Betts' lawyers argued the prison term was too long because the consequences of the punches were medically unusual and could not reasonably have been foreseen.

However, three senior judges ruled that, although the sentence was severe, Betts could have no complaint.

Mr Justice Hedley said: “This case raises the tensions between the culpability of the offender in the commission of the criminal act and his responsibility for the consequences of that act, when the consequences are far more serious than would ordinarily be expected.

“Those who chose to punch someone to the head, particularly if they do so twice, cannot expect to have their pleas heard too loudly when they appeal over the consequences of what they have done.”

Betts, of Dartford Road, Leicester, was riding his bike through the skate park at 2am when he encountered Kirby and his friends drinking.

They had made remarks towards him about the speed he was travelling.

Betts?then dropped his bike and walked back to the group. During the confrontation he grabbed Kirby and punched him on the jaw and temple.

The teenager was taken to hospital and later discharged.

However, the following day he was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, after developing blinding pains in his head and ear.

He underwent emergency brain surgery for?two-and-a-half hours, during which his scalp was peeled back.

Betts was arrested after his name was suggested as a suspect on Facebook.

Kirby said it had come as a shock to hear that Betts had appealed against his sentence, but he was nonetheless relieved that?his attacker?had been unsuccessful.

For more on this story, see this week's Woking edition of the Surrey Advertiser, out on Friday, November 5.

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