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6 years in jail for drunk & banned driver who killed Sussex cyclist

Samuel Kirk was illegally overtaking on wrong side of road when he hit Jennifer Hossack who was riding in opposite direction

A Sussex motorist who was banned from driving and over the drink-drive limit when he killed a female cyclist has been given a six-year prison sentence and a three-year ban after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. 

Jennifer Hossack, aged 27 and from Kingsfold near Horsham, died from injuries she sustained on the evening of 27 September when she was struck by a Citroën Xsara driven by Samuel Kirk, aged 26, near Pulborough.

Kirk, who has no fixed address, had driven across double white lines in the road to illegally overtake another car when his vehicle hit Miss Hossack, who was riding in the opposite direction, reports The Argus

His car crashed after he lost control of it, and he fled the scene, Lewes Crown Court was told.

After he was sentenced, Sergeant Stewart Goodwin of Sussex Police said: "The actions of Samuel Kirk show exactly what can happen when someone gets behind the wheel after drinking.

"His behaviour cost the Hossack family their loved one and have cost him his liberty.

"The message to people considering drink-driving is simple - don't do it."

Days after Miss Hossack’s death, Kirk appeared at Worthing Magistrates’ Court and was jailed for 20 weeks after pleading guilty to driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Kirk, who was disqualified at the time of the fatal incident and had also been drinking, will have to take an extended driving test once his ban expires before he can get his licence back.

Since 2009, in cases where a custodial sentence has been imposed, driving bans only start running once the motorist has been released from prison.

That change in the law was the result of a campaign fought by Jan Woodward, whose daughter Kelly, aged 19, was killed after accepting a lift home from a party from a man who had twice as much alcohol in his bloodstream as the legal limit.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the victim’s mother that the sentence was unduly lenient, increasing the prison sentence handed down to Andrew Burrell from two and a half years to four and a half years, and banning him for driving for five years.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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41 comments

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Krd51 | 10 years ago
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Just hang him!!!!!!

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stinga | 10 years ago
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What is the point of giving him another driving ban? He was already banned and this didn't stop him from getting behind the wheel. The original ban didn't work... so cut his arms off, that will stop him.

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Accessibility f... replied to stinga | 10 years ago
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> What is the point of giving him another driving ban?

Driving while banned is an arrestable offence, unlike driving without a licence.

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kie7077 replied to Accessibility for all | 10 years ago
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Peowpeowpeowlasers wrote:

> What is the point of giving him another driving ban?

Driving while banned is an arrestable offence, unlike driving without a licence.

Unbelievable, and only 3 to 6 points on a license you don't have if caught!! UK driving laws are a joke.

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bauchlebastart | 10 years ago
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So let me see if I have this right, even if he serves the normal half sentence, he'll be out around the time his ban is up?

NO

Since 2009, in cases where a custodial sentence has been imposed, driving bans only start running once the motorist has been released from prison.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to bauchlebastart | 10 years ago
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bauchlebastart wrote:

So let me see if I have this right, even if he serves the normal half sentence, he'll be out around the time his ban is up?

NO

Since 2009, in cases where a custodial sentence has been imposed, driving bans only start running once the motorist has been released from prison.

Good Lord - it took until 2009 for anyone to figure out people don't drive while in prison?

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Gkam84 | 10 years ago
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So let me see if I have this right, even if he serves the normal half sentence, he'll be out around the time his ban is up?

Leaving him either free to drive again or at most having to sit another test?

Should have gotten a ban that kept him from the roads for a long time, a friend of mine had a crash, while driving dangerously and killed another friend who was the passenger. He got a 5 year jail term and a 10 year ban from driving.....but because it was a cyclist, again the sentence is no where near the maximum  14

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zeb | 10 years ago
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Less than half the maximum (which is 14 years) for someone who was drunk, banned, and did a hit and run.

I wonder, what do you need to do to get the maximum?

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unsliced replied to zeb | 10 years ago
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Quote:

I wonder, what do you need to do to get the maximum?

Not kill a cyclist, there's your 50% off right there.

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RedfishUK replied to zeb | 10 years ago
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Less than half the maximum (which is 14 years) for someone who was drunk, banned, and did a hit and run.

I wonder, what do you need to do to get the maximum?

He pleaded Guilty at the Magistrates court in September..an early guilty plea gives an automatic reduction in sentence ..on the grounds it saves the family the trauma of a trial, but also as it is cheaper for the Courts...

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to RedfishUK | 10 years ago
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RedfishUK wrote:

Less than half the maximum (which is 14 years) for someone who was drunk, banned, and did a hit and run.

I wonder, what do you need to do to get the maximum?

He pleaded Guilty at the Magistrates court in September..an early guilty plea gives an automatic reduction in sentence ..on the grounds it saves the family the trauma of a trial, but also as it is cheaper for the Courts...

Was there any serious chance he could have avoided being found guilty?
I'm dubious about that policy, in that it seems to be more useful for those who know they have been caught 'bang to rights' than for those who might genuinely be innocent and want to clear their name. As with 'plea bargaining' it seems to put saving money ahead of actually administering justice.

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