Mobile phone killer driver will be allowed to drive again

A special constable who knocked down and killed a young mother after he used his mobile phone behind the wheel has been jailed. Beat officer James Denton then tried to delete his phone call log of incriminating evidence in an attempt to avoid justice over the death of Louise Keating who was just weeks away from marrying.

A court heard Denton, 29, who also worked as a scenes of crime investigator, had been calling a friend or sending a text when the fatal crash occurred. Denton had vital seconds to react to Miss Keating walking into his path as he drove at just 25mph, shocking CCTV footage shown to jurors revealed. However, he only slammed his feet on the brakes after striking her.

In an appeal for leniency, Denton’s barrister said

'I will remind your honour of a piece of evidence from an expert witness during the trial.

'It is easier for a pedestrian to see a car than it is a car to see a pedestrian.'

Fascinating. Who was this ‘expert witness’? Probably a fellow cop. It provides an interesting insight into the expertise of so-called road crash experts that they subscribe to the blame-the-victim thesis that a pedestrian has more responsibility than a car driver. And note that the barrister sanitizes the crash by talking about a car ‘seeing’ a pedestrian, rather than the driver.

Six letters from fellow police officers were also handed to the recorder, all praising father-of-one Denton's 'professionalism' and 'dedication' to his work.

No surprise there. Such a shame that Denton’s professionalism and dedication didn’t extend to, er, obeying the law.

As usual the judicial system regards the right to drive as the most fundamental human right of them all, so this killer wasn’t banned for life, simply

banned from driving for three years.