NEWS
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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.
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From January 2012 the multiple choice part of the driving theory test will be made up of questions which are no longer published in learning materials. The reason behind the move is to stop candidates from being tempted to simply memorise theory test Q & A and learn by rote.
So we have published new learning materials with a lot more content and references to source material to help candidates prepare for the test and life on the road. The materials still include questions and answers covering all topic areas for revision purposes and give explanations for every revision question, to help candidates fully understand the answer.
No changes are being made to the format of the theory test, the time allowed or the pass mark. Provided candidates revise sufficiently, there should be no difficulty with the test.
