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Learner driver jailed over death of nine-year-old girl
Two-year sentence for Beatrice Mawamba, who killed Shamirah Grant after losing control of car during her first driving lesson


A learner driver who crashed and killed a nine-year-old girl while on her first driving lesson has been jailed for two years.

Beatrice Mawamba, 34, panicked and careered down a narrow alleyway into a grassed courtyard while taking a lesson with her husband, Leeds crown court heard.

The court was told she crushed to death nine-year-old Shamirah Grant and injured two other girls, one seriously.

The court was told Mawamba had a provisional licence but had only done online theory lessons and had not driven a car before.

Michael Smith, prosecuting, said: "The children describe playing in the early evening and saw a man and woman in a green Vauxhall car. The man was giving some sort of instruction to the woman. The children heard the engine revving and saw it stutter and come flying down towards them fast."

The vehicle was earlier described as "bunny hopping" before Mawamba lost control and veered dangerously out of control, down the steps of a narrow alleyway and on to the grassed children's play area near Leopold Grove in the Chapeltown area of Leeds.

"The defendant described the car going very fast and her husband telling her to brake but she did not know how to. Her husband also tried to stop the car but couldn't.When challenged by the police she was unable to say which pedal was the brake," Smith added.

The court heard she was not travelling at speed during the incident and had only managed to get into first gear.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Openshaw said Mawamba was "profoundly ignorant" of the most basic driving skills.

He added: "It seems to me she was unaware of putting the car in gear. Having done so she was unable to disengage first gear. She did not know how to apply the brake pedal; she could not find the brake pedal; she did not know where it was or what purpose it served."

The judge said setting off driving when "so lacking the most basic driving skills" amounted to a "thoughtless disregard for the safety of others".

He said: "In my judgment a prison sentence is necessary to impress upon others that driving a car without having any idea how to control it is seriously antisocial and presents a substantial risk to the public, and such behaviour must strongly be discouraged."

Mawamba, a mother-of-three from Chapeltown, admitted causing death by dangerous driving in May this year.

She was banned from driving for five years and must take an extended test when her ban ends.

Graham Parkin, for Mawamba, said his client was remorseful and remained "extremely distressed" by the tragedy. "She wishes, of course, she could turn back the clock and that it never happened," he added.

The victim's parents, Gary and Jennifer Grant, issued a statement following Wednesday's sentencing.

The statement said: "As the parents of Shamirah Grant, we have forgiven those present in the vehicle which veered dangerously out of control from the car park down the steps of a narrow pedestrianised walkway into a grassed children's play area, unfortunately killing our daughter and injuring two of her friends.

"We appreciate that such a terrible event was not intentional. We have not sought to influence the sentencing of the court in any way and accept that the driver is sincerely remorseful, being a mother of three herself.

"Nevertheless, Shamirah's death has left a heart-rending gap within our family's lives and, in a lasting legacy to her name, we intend to go forward positively by creating opportunities which will use performing arts, which was Shamirah's passion, to empower young people educationally, and hopefully make a change in their lives.

"Since Shamirah's passing we have adopted the symbol of the butterfly which metamorphoses from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, whose life, although short-lived, graces a summer's day with her beautiful elegance.

"So it's hoped that through the spirit of our beautiful but short-lived daughter, we too can bring change for the better."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/21/learner-driver-jailed-death-girl?newsfeed=true

Man this is one time I actually think my dad did something right when he taught me; any time I didn't do the right thing he'd lose his temper and stick his foot over to stomp on the brake or jerk the wheel the way I was supposed to go. That definitely wouldn't have happened if her husband had been like him. And maybe this is also why my very first driving lesson he had me circle an abandoned building 10 times.

personally, i believe the husband was at fault. When you take on the responsibility to teach a new driver, you should suffer the consequences of not being in control of the situation. True he could not stomp on the brake because this was a stick shift, but as supernova said... he should have started her off in an empty parking lot.

My mother only took me driving at 3am to make sure no one was on the road! lol

wants2laugh wrote:

personally, i believe the husband was at fault. When you take on the responsibility to teach a new driver, you should suffer the consequences of not being in control of the situation. True he could not stomp on the brake because this was a stick shift, but as supernova said... he should have started her off in an empty parking lot.

My mother only took me driving at 3am to make sure no one was on the road! lol

Oh man I'm glad my dad never did that, we always went out between 6 and 7 in the morning before people went to work and school.

I think the jail thing is a bit harsh. She should NOT have been on the road. But sending her to jail seems a bit excessive.

That's so unfortunate. I wouldn't have had anywhere near any kids on her first driving lesson. And quite frankly, it baffles me that she didn't even know how to brake....I mean, even though you've never driven before, knowing where and how to brake should be something you should know before you get in the car.

Nystyle709 wrote:

That's so unfortunate. I wouldn't have had anywhere near any kids on her first driving lesson. And quite frankly, it baffles me that she didn't even know how to brake....I mean, even though you've never driven before, knowing where and how to brake should be something you should know before you get in the car.

This is true but during my first driving lesson NOT in an empty parking lot, I accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake, and I felt really stupid about that. And that night my mom told me about people who had driven for years and then, these are the ones you see crashing into stores, they had years of flawless driving and then one time accidentally stepped on the wrong pedal, so I guess it's possible.

Nystyle709 wrote:

That's so unfortunate. I wouldn't have had anywhere near any kids on her first driving lesson. And quite frankly, it baffles me that she didn't even know how to brake....I mean, even though you've never driven before, knowing where and how to brake should be something you should know before you get in the car.