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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Man jailed over girl's bike death | Man jailed over girl's bike death |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A convicted drink driver has been jailed for four years after he crashed a quad bike killing a three-year-old girl he had taken for a ride. | A convicted drink driver has been jailed for four years after he crashed a quad bike killing a three-year-old girl he had taken for a ride. |
| Stephen Connell, 21, from Newhall, Derbyshire, admitted causing Kelcey Kirkham's death by careless driving. | Stephen Connell, 21, from Newhall, Derbyshire, admitted causing Kelcey Kirkham's death by careless driving. |
| Derby Crown Court heard he was one-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit. | Derby Crown Court heard he was one-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit. |
| Connell, a friend of the toddler's family, was also banned from driving for seven years. | Connell, a friend of the toddler's family, was also banned from driving for seven years. |
| 'Criminal stupidity' | 'Criminal stupidity' |
| He also admitted he was driving whilst disqualified and without insurance. | He also admitted he was driving whilst disqualified and without insurance. |
| Connell was at the Anchor public house in Newhall when he took the girl out on her father's quad bike, which crashed into a car on 16 June. | |
| Kelcey was thrown from the front of the bike during the collision and died from her injuries. | |
| In sentencing Judge John Wait said: "Through your reckless and criminal stupidity, you took away the life of a three-year-old child. | In sentencing Judge John Wait said: "Through your reckless and criminal stupidity, you took away the life of a three-year-old child. |
| "No sentence I can pass today can measure the loss of that life." | "No sentence I can pass today can measure the loss of that life." |
| After the sentencing Anna Zimand, prosecuting, said the death was entirely avoidable and hoped lessons would be learned from the case. | |
| "His decision to take the bike onto the road in these circumstances had devastating consequences and will hopefully serve as a warning to anyone who thinks quad bikes are simply a bit of fun and can be treated differently to any other vehicle driven on a public road," she said. | |
| An inquest into the girl's death has been opened and adjourned. | An inquest into the girl's death has been opened and adjourned. |