Man who killed girl, 17, when he drove on wrong side of road is spared jail

A man who veered onto the wrong side of the road in Cornwall, killing a teenage driver in the process, has been spared jail.

Russell Hitchcock, 45, from Plymouth, previously pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by careless driving and one count of causing serious injury by careless driving.

The landscape gardener was driving along the A388 at Stoke Climsland on his way from work on April 27, 2023, when he suddenly veered over the double white lines into the wrong carriageway.

His Ford Transit flatbed van struck 17-year-old Alisha Osman’s Vauxhall Corsa head-on, killing her and seriously injuring her best friend Imogen Holt, who was in the front passenger seat and 16 at the time.

Imogen still suffers from her extensive injuries almost two years on, reports Cornwall Live.

Alisha was dropping her friend home from college before plans to head to the supermarket, Truro Crown Court heard.

The tragedy happened just ten days after she passed her driving test.

In his police statement, Hitchcock says he has no idea why he drove onto the wrong side of the road.

He told officers he recalls travelling up the hill and then the next thing he remembers is being in the opposite lane.

‘I know I wasn’t trying to overtake anyone so I have no idea why I was on the wrong side of the road,’ he said while tearful and shaking, according to police.

He spoke of feeling a bit drowsy earlier, but had opened a window and then felt fine.

He was taking antihistamines for hay fever but no other medication. Forensic scientists said it was unlikely antihistamines would affect someone’s ability to drive.

The court heard there was nothing out of the ordinary or dangerous about how either car was being driven before Hitchcock veers over.

Occupants in vehicles behind the van said Hitchcock had been driving around 45mph in a 50mph zone and there was no cause for concern.

Shortly before the accident happened at about 3.40pm, there were arrows that indicated vehicles should return to their lane due to double white lines ahead.

A witness in a vehicle directly behind Hitchcock described him making a ‘sudden and unexpected’ movement just after the introduction of the double white lines.

The movement was so sudden the witness did an emergency break, before hearing a loud bang as the vehicles collided.

In her statement, Imogen described how Hitchcock’s van had been ‘snaking’ towards them, ‘like he was out of control’.

Her injuries included a scalpal haematoma, air in her chest cavity between her lungs and a fracture to both her arm and femur as well as further external and internal injuries, according to Cornwall Live.

Imogen spent three days in intensive care and was in hospital for eight days, requiring multiple surgeries.

She continues to receive treatment for her physical injuries and has also struggled psychologically, suffering nightmares, flashbacks and signs of PTSD, the court heard.

In a victim impact statement, Alisha’s mother Angela Osman, described her daughter’s love of animals, farming and tractors, and her plans to take an agricultural court at college.

She would often help her father farm late into the evenings, especially with lambing, and ‘would never shy away from any task asked of her, even if it was the worst job’.

Alisha was also a big rugby fan, she said, and spent alot of time at her local rugby club and would ‘brighten’ the days of all who knew her.

Ms Osman said her world ‘collapsed’ around her when she lost her daughter, and her life now ‘feels hollow’.

She described the family as being consumed by grief and anger every day.

Hitchcock’s defence lawyer, said he has showed a ‘genuine and deep sense of remorse’.

She also said he accepted he was responsible at the outset and gave a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.

Sentencing Hitchock on Friday, Judge Simon Carr said there was no evidence he had been speeding, using his mobile or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

He described the cause of the crash as a ‘momentary but catastrophic loss of control of [the] vehicle’.

Hitchcock was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work over a one-year community order and will be disqualified from driving for two years.

Judge Carr told the court: ‘I know nothing I do will lessen the pain caused by Alisha’s death and Imogen’s serious injury.’

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