A motorcyclist who caused the death of a young father and left his wife in an induced coma after a crash has been jailed
A motorcyclist who caused the death of a young father and left his wife in an induced coma after a crash has been jailed.
Samuel Browning sped past a line of traffic on the wrong side of the road, causing Jamie-Scott Ashenden to swerve in an attempt to avoid him.
Tragically, Mr Ashenden lost control of his Ford Focus on Buckle Street near Bidford-on-Avon back in April 2019 and it crashed into a tree, killing the 28-year-old.
His wife Melissa had to be airlifted to hospital and was placed in an induced coma for a week due to swelling on her brain. She has no memory of the fatal crash.
Also in the car were the couple’s then three-year-old son, who suffered a fractured leg, as did a family friend’s son also travelling in the rear, while that boy’s mum suffered a deep cut to her leg.
Browning, 28, of Oak Farm Close, Milcombe, near Banbury, originally denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, but pleaded guilty on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court to an alternative offence of causing death by careless driving.
He was today (February 7) jailed for 15 months.
In an impact statement to the court, Melissa Ashenden said: “My son tells me he is sad as he misses his dad and still believes he will come home one day.
“I’ve told him he can’t as he’s a star in the sky now.”
‘Felt like a broken man’
Speaking in mitigation for Browning, Charles Row said the defendant’s “remorse for causing the death is heartfelt and genuine” and had told the author of a pre-sentence report that he “felt like a broken man” and is “totally devastated” at not only causing Mr Ashenden’s death, but also for the injuries to the others in the Ford Focus.
Mr Row said Browning’s brother had penned a letter to the court that spoke of Browning “losing his zest for life” since the incident and the remorse he feels being “a reminder that he will carry this with him for the rest of his life”.
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