Family's fury at hit-and-run driver

THE manager of rock star Pete Doherty has been jailed for 12 months for a hit-and-run crash which left a Hadleigh man with catastrophic brain injuries.

Andrew Boyd, 42, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday after he admitted knocking down Chris Corder, 44, as he delivered parish newsletters in Benton Street, Hadleigh, on September 27 last year.

Mr Corder, of Benton Street, was left face down and unconscious in the road after the crash and has been in a coma ever since.

Dramatic scenes unfolded outside the courtroom as Steven Grimsey, Mr Corder's brother-in-law, chased Boyd as he arrived for his sentencing hearing, shouting abuse at him.

The court heard Boyd, of Lady Margaret Road in London, had borrowed a Daimler from Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty to visit his mother who lives in the town - despite having no driving licence or insurance.

As he was leaving Hadleigh, Boyd became distracted by his four-year-old son crying in the back of the car and turned his head, at which point he hit Mr Corder, who had stepped into the road.

Boyd stopped briefly 60 metres down the road before driving off at speed.

Chris Henley, in mitigation, said by the time Boyd had slowed and looked in his rear view mirror, he was around the bend from the accident and could not see anything.

“He had no understanding at all of the awful extent of the injuries that were sustained by Mr Corder,” Mr Henley said. “He made a terrible mistake that day which had awful consequences for Mr Corder.”

An automatic number plate recognition camera helped track Boyd down as it caught the Daimler driving towards the A12 shortly after the crash and the car was later traced to a repair shop in London, where work had been done to conceal damage caused in the accident.

Mr Corder's family packed the courtroom to see Boyd sentenced to 12 months in jail, of which he will serve six months.

Boyd was given 12 months in jail for dangerous driving, four months concurrent for failing to stop at the scene of an accident and four months concurrent for failing to report the collision.

He was also banned from the roads for two years for driving without insurance, banned for a further 12 months for driving without reasonable consideration and given no separate penalty for driving without a licence.

Boyd had admitted all the charges at a previous hearing last month.

Judge David Goodin said had Boyd stopped after the crash, he would not have been facing jail.

He said: “You left him in the road with these devastating injuries. That panic was motivated by a desire to save your own skin.”

Jennie Corder, Mr Corder's sister, speaking after the sentence, said she would have liked to see Boyd get a longer term.

“I am really angry,” she said. “He has ruined the rest of my brother's life. I don't honestly think he had any remorse.”

Mr Corder's family thanked the air ambulance, staff at the Royal London Hospital and Suffolk police for their help and support and added they hoped Boyd would reflect on his actions in prison.

Sergeant Bob Patterson, of Suffolk police's Serious Collision Investigation Team, said after the result: “The sentence imposed today cannot repay the devastating impact this incident has had on the life of the victim Chris Corder, or pain and suffering imposed on his family.

“However, as far as the police investigation team is concerned, the conviction of Boyd is a satisfactory outcome.”