A 25-year-old businessman that fatally ran over an 8-year-old girl on November 10, 2018, has been jailed for over 3 years.
Jon-Paul Caruana, the 25-year-old businessman, was driving at 50 miles per hour in 30 miles per hour zone when he hit 8-year-old Emily Connor at 47 miles per hour.
The 8-year-old died at the scene despite efforts of having been made to revive her.
While appearing before the Manchester Crown Court, Caruana admitted that he was responsible for the death of the 8-year-old by dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison.
He was also banned from driving any sort of vehicle for 4 years and 8 months.
Caruana, a father, was frustrated about being held up in gridlocked traffic so he broke the speed barriers.
The 25-year-old businessman was driving his Vauxhall Corsa when he was trying to pick up a friend before going to a business meeting.
Minutes after collecting his friend, Caruana hit Emily.
The little girl was reportedly walking hand-in-hand with her grandmother while they were waiting for a bus.
Emily momentarily let go of her grandmother to dart across the road when Caruana hit her.
The girl was on her way to watch the Christmas lights switch-on at the Trafford Center.
Caruana, who used to work as a sales director at a call center firm, was taking a selfie behind the wheel while stationary and had been dictating business messages to his fiancé.
The fiancé was seated in the front passenger seat when the incident happened.
On the first anniversary of Emily’s death, Caruana placed flowers at the scene of the tragedy.
Richard Littler, the lawyer of Caruana, said:
“He has been inconsolable after this tragic accident. On the first anniversary, he returned to the scene to lay flowers and he was approached by a neighbour who embraced him because she was fully aware of the effect this had had on him. He said he wanted to embrace Emily when he saw her in the road because she reminded him of his younger sister. This is an incident that will stay with him for the rest of his life. The fiance in her moving statement sums it up. She says that this is going to be a daily recurring nightmare for him. He isn’t interested in how long the sentence is; he is wiling to accept the case against him and ignored any legal advice. He has wound up his company knowing that won’t be able to carry on, he has wound up his tenancy, he has cut his hair and beard in preparation of going into custody. He has found this very difficult and it will live with him for the rest of his life.”
A priest has also liaised with a priest from the church of Emily.
Danny Connor, the father of the 8-year-old, released a statement to the police, where he talked about the wonderful time their family had with Emily.
In the statement Mr. Connor said:
“At the time of Emily’s death, she was doing well at school and her inclusive nature fulfilled a crucial role within the family. She was a bridge between the family members because of her engaging personality. She was a popular girl with many friends on the estate. She enjoyed singing and dancing and even when illness in the family was present she was always a shining light. Knowing the boys need me is the only thing that keeps me going. There is always a little darkness in the background when they recall Emily is no longer with them.”
While passing the sentence down, Judge David Stockdale QC told the 25-year-old businessman:
“Emily was a happy and healthy eight-year-old girl and it is difficult to conceive of a more innocent reason for her and her grandmother to to be out and about that day. There was nothing untoward going on. No one could have predicted what was going to happen next. It seems to me instead of reducing your speed significantly you sounded your horn as a warning and you swerved to your left. However that only served to startle Emily. She had been holding her grandmother’s hand but she let go apparently attempting to run to the far side of the road and your car collided with her. There is evidence that you had been driving in a particular hurry to pick up a friend who was waiting for you. A photograph was sent to your friend showing you were stuck in traffic. Your passenger sent a message saying you were ‘breaking speed barriers’. You were in a hurry you had been held up and you were frustrated by the time the accident had occurred. But you had picked up your friend so that cause to be in a hurry had evaporated and I don’t know why you were in a hurry at the time of the accident. But you were driving at a grossly excessive speed and there was a failure to properly keep a look out at traffic conditions ahead and a failure to react to the movement of Emily and pedestrians on the road ahead.”
The judge added:
“This was a piece of obviously dangerous driving in a residential built-up area that brought about the loss of a young life. It is rightly described as a tragic accident but it was an accident that was entirely avoidable. Emily’s family have suffered a great loss but I’m absolutely satisfied your remorse is sincere and genuine. You have expressed it in a positive way by what you have said, what you have written and by that gestures such as your placing flowers at the scene on the accident. No sentence will compensate Emily Connor’s family for their loss. There are no winners in a case like this – only losers. No sentence I pass can turn back the clock for what has happened. This case is a classic example of the appalling consequences that can follow from a bit of driving at grossly excessive speed in a residential area with pedestrians about.”