Teen Jailed for Death by Dangerous Driving

30 June 2010, 06:56 | Updated: 30 June 2010, 07:20

An 18 year-old's been jailed for five years for causing the deaths of an 84 year-old woman and her 60 year-old daughter in Strood.

Elsie Blades and Marilyn Herlihy died after being knocked down when they tried to cross Station Road in the town last July.

Jamie Smith of Alamein Avenue in Chatham pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving - he's also been banned from driving for seven years.

Following sentence Senior Investigating Officer, Acting Detective Inspector Alan Thompson said:  ‘This was a tragic incident which was caused by Smith driving at excessive speeds.  The investigation revealed that he was driving at about 50mph in a 30mph zone when he lost control of the car and struck Elsie and Marilyn.  Smith has been rightly jailed for being responsible for the deaths of two women who were enjoying life and had much to live for.

‘Other motorists will need to look at this sentence and think about the dangers of speeding on all roads in Kent and Medway.  Speeding does take lives and we would urge all motorists to drive responsibly and obey the speed limits.  A young man has needlessly taken the lives of two women and now finds himself in prison for a considerable amount of time.’

The family of Elsie and Marilyn were too upset to speak following the sentence.  They have released a brief statement that reads: 

‘We are glad that this has finally been concluded.  Nothing can bring back the people that we’ve lost.  We have the life sentence of knowing that their lives were cut short by the senseless acts of Jamie Smith.  We would like to thank our friends and family for their support as well as Kent Police.’