Council gritter driver drove his car like 'an idiot' and killed dad-of-three as he crossed Stanningley Road in Leeds

A court heard Shane Grimes' young family had been left devastated at the death of the 30-year-old as Nathan Pickersgill was sentenced.

Leeds Crown Court heard Pickersgill was driving at "motorway speeds" along Stanningley Road and may have been racing another vehicle moments before the fatal collision.

Mr Grimes was walking home from a night out drinking with friends in Armley when he was struck by Pickersgill's Skoda Fabia as he crossed the dual carriageway on July 13, 2019.

Robert Smith, prosecuting, said Pickersgill, 23, had attended a "car meet" in the car park of B&Q in Beeston earlier on the night of the tragedy.

Mr Grimes was struck by Pickersgill's car near to the junction with Armley Grange Drive at around 11pm.

The prosecutor said the defendant was estimated to have been driving at between 70mph and 80mph in a 40mph zone.

Pickersgill's car and another vehicle, which has never been identified, were captured on CCTV footage travelling at speed moments before the collision.

A witness who saw the defendant's car shortly before the incident described Pickersgill's car as "flying past us" and thinking "what an idiot."

Mr Smith said: "It may have been that Mr Grimes misjudged the speed on the vehicles because they had been travelling so far above the speed limit."

Mr Grimes was thrown from the Bradford-bound carriageway into the Leeds-bound carriageway.

He suffered multiple injuries and died a short time after the collision.

Pickersgill lost control of his vehicle as it struck the kerb then crashed into a telegraph pole and a wall.

He was heard to say "I think I have killed him" at the scene as members of the public tried to help Mr Grimes.

After the crash, Pickersgill's mobile phone was seized and was found to contain photos of high-powered cars "drag racing."

Images of his own vehicle "accelerating and decelerating" in a multi-storey car park were also found.

Pickersgill, of Stanningley Lofts, Stanningley, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

A victim statement was read to the court on behalf of Mr Grimes' former partner, Chantelle Holt.

She said: "I have spent over two years counselling and having to repeatedly explain to our children, who were aged one, three and five at the time, of the loss of their father and that he would never be coming home.

"Our baby will never get the chance to know his daddy.

"There are so many opportunities in life they will never have, like being walked down the aisle by their father.

"Our lives have changed forever no matter what the sentence the defendant receives or the remorse he feels. It will never bring Shane back."

Christopher Dunn, mitigating, said: "This is an utterly tragic case.

"Two families' lives have been decimated by what is essentially 30 seconds of pure madness, which is wholly out of character for the man that stands before you facing a lengthy prison sentence.

"Nobody in their right mind puts their foot down in a car and anticipates that this is going to happen."

Mr Dunn continued: "This has had a catastrophic impact on him. Like any right-minded individual he will be haunted for the rest of his life on the basis that he has killed somebody."

The barrister said Pickersgill's partner had recently given birth to their son.

Mr Dunn said Pickersgill worked as a council gritter driver.

He added: "He takes his obligation for public safety seriously, which makes this 30 seconds of madness all the more difficult to understand."

Sentencing Pickersgill, Judge Christopher Batty said: "You took a deliberate decision to travel at nearly twice that speed limit.

"I cannot be sure why that was.

"You have never been able to provide any explanation for it.

"There is not enough evidence to be sure that you were racing the driver of the other car."

"I accept that your mental health has deteriorated dramatically as a result of the guilt and remorse that you feel.

"Not for yourself but for the death of Mr Grimes and the devastating loss to his family.

"I recognise that you will live with that guilt and remorse for the rest of your life.

"As a new father, the enormity of Shane's family's loss will be all too apparent to you.

"Their loss has been immeasurable.

"Their lives have been turned upside down by your reckless behaviour.

"This court cannot in any way compensate Shane's family for their loss.

"The sentence I am about to impose can in no way reflect the value of his life."