A TEENAGE learner driver who killed a pensioner in a hit-and-run smash has been jailed for nine months.

Helen Skene

A TEENAGE learner driver who killed a pensioner in a hit-and-run smash has been jailed for nine months.

Kyler Jackson, of Blake Road, Ipswich, killed 61-year-old Susan Garnham as she walked home along Stoke Park Drive in the town on March 23 this year.

Jackson, 18, swerved his Fiat car in icy conditions, mounted the kerb and hit Mrs Garnham, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Jackson then telephoned the police and said he saw a black VW Golf hit someone before leaving the scene and going to work.

Three days later he went on holiday to Center Parcs with his girlfriend hoping he had got away with it, the court heard.

The former fitness instructor pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, careless driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, having no insurance and driving unsupervised on a provisional licence.

After the hearing, Mrs Garnham's family released the following statement: “The sentence today does not change the fact that the actions of Kyler Jackson have left our family devastated at the death of our mum, Susan Garnham.

“Our family, friends and the community we live in, are still in total shock that Kyler Jackson stopped, saw our mum dying, then drove off and proceeded to cover his tracks.

“We feel that Kyler Jackson is a cowardly & deceitful man and continue to find it difficult to forgive him for his inhumane actions.

“We would like to think that our mum's brutal death does not end up as another statistic and that people will take note that everything they do has a consequence to others.

“We would have wished that this sentence reflected the severity of the actions taken and would be seen to be a deterrent to those who feel they can act with no forethought for others within the community.

“Unfortunately, due to current legislation, this is not the case.

“We would like to thank our friends and the community for their support since Easter Sunday and that they remember our mum as the truly wonderful person she was, someone who gave so much and touched so many lives and expected nothing in return.

“We will all miss her dearly.”