Drug dealer who ran over and killed 'respected' man thinking his prone body lying in the road was a 'Halloween prank' is jailed

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

A drug dealer who ran over and killed a 'loyal' and 'respected' man after thinking his body lying in the road was a Halloween prank has been jailed.
Karl Twyford, 29, knocked down Steve Day, 67, shortly before 10pm on October 30, 2021, in Sutton Bonington, Nottinghamshire.
Mr Day, a keen motorcyclist, was walking in the village at the time he was run over. He suffered catastrophic injuries to his chest and head and died at the scene.
At Nottingham Crown Court, prosecutor Esther Harrison revealed Twyford saw an 'obstacle' as he drove down the road in his silver Ford Ranger.
She said: 'He said he did not know what it was and by the time he saw it he was unable to avoid it and drove over it. He said he thought it was a Halloween prank.'
Miss Harrison said other people had stopped and saw Mr Day's body lying in the road, but Twyford made impact and drove on.
She said: 'A witness was driving her car with a passenger and she saw something lying in the road and realised it was a person.
'She said he was laying on his back in the road with his hand over his chest and she slowed down and maneuvered around it.
'The defendant's silver Ford Ranger followed and drove over Mr Day causing catastrophic injuries to the chest and head. That vehicle stopped, reversed back and then drove off.'
Twyford handed himself into police two days after the horror collision. There is no suggestion as to why Mr Day was lying in the road at the time.
When police searched Twyford's home in Kegworth, they found three rooms set aside for growing cannabis and nearly a kilo of the Class B drug - worth £11,000. High purity cocaine worth £2,000 was also discovered.
Following a retrial earlier this year, a jury took just an hour to unanimously find Twyford guilty of causing the death of Mr Day by careless or inconsiderate driving.
The 29-year-old also pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to supply drugs and production of cannabis.
Richard Thatcher, mitigating, said Twyford, now of Ashbourne in Derbyshire, works as a self-employed bricklayer and became a father in October last year.
He said: 'He has perhaps matured and now has something of a family life. He made money (from drug dealing) but that does not mean he had an extravagant lifestyle.'
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Day's wife Gina said she was 'distraught and empty' without her husband, calling him a 'well-respected' man in Sutton Bonington where he had lived for almost four decades.
She said: 'As his wife I am so distraught and empty. He had so much more living to do, he loved life, especially walking in Cornwall and Scotland with his dogs and loved motorcycling.
'He was kind, loving, loyal and would help anyone. He loved village life and was well known and respected in Sutton Bonington where he had lived for 38 years. He was my life and it will be so hard without him.'
Judge Michael Auty KC jailed Twyford for four-and-a-half-years. He received a nine-month sentence for causing Mr Day's death and three years and nine months for the drug offences.
The judge also disqualified him from driving until he passes a further test following his release.
Judge Auty said: 'Steven Day's wife, Gina, describes her husband as a happy, kind and loving man who enjoyed life to the full.
'That does not surprise me because I have seen photographs of him which reveal a smiling gentleman utterly at peace with the world.
'Precisely why it was that you did not see him or slow down must be, as the jury found, inattentiveness and tragedy followed. You then panicked and left the scene leaving Mr Day.'