Fine after death of mum and son
Saturday 15th December 2007, 11:41AM GMT.
A Shrewsbury pub manager has been convicted of driving without due care and attention after the death of a pregnant mother and her seven-year-old son.
Christopher Ballantyne, who had denied the charge, was yesterday fined £1,000 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Sarah Piggott, 42, her son Simon and unborn child Sullivan all died following the accident.
They were struck by Ballantyne’s car while crossing Robertson Way on June 26 last year. They were just yards from their home.
Deputy district judge Tony Gascoyne, during sentencing at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court, also ordered the 35-year-old manager of the Boathouse pub to pay £1,000 costs.
The court had heard Ballantyne had veered into the off-side lane to try and miss the pedestrians when he saw them trying to cross the road, but had hit them
Judge Gascoyne said: “It seems to me that it would be obvious to anyone watching that when Sarah and her son were on the verge they were looking to cross the road.
“I would have anticipated more action from Mr Ballantyne considering the situation.”
He said by taking his foot off the brake Ballantyne’s car continued in a forward motion and therefore ran over Simon and very likely Mrs Piggott.
Members of the Piggott family welcomed yesterday’s verdict. A statement released on their behalf by solicitors Lanyon Bowdler said the family felt Ballantyne could have done more to avoid the tragedy.
The statement said: “Sarah was a fantastic mother, wife and friend. She was loved by family and friends and well known to many in the community.
“She was full of character and life and would make a mark on people’s memories.
“Simon was a fun-loving, bubbly, sports-mad seven-year-old. He was cheerful and popular with friends from school and loved by all those around him.
“The whole family has been devastated by the events surrounding Sarah and Simon’s death and would like to emphasise that it is impossible for them to put their feelings in to words. Their grief is with them every day.”
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YOU GET A BIGGER BAN FOR DRINK DRIVING,SENTANCE FAR TOO LIGHT.
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3 lives gone and he walks were is the justis in that
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£1000, for three lives ?
Shame on the British Legal System.
An insult to the family and friends.
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This sentence is appalling. This man KILLED three people through HIS negligence.. He should be banned from driving for life and spend time in custody. This sentence is just typical of British Justice… My thoughts and prayers are with this family who have lost so much due to his stupidity.
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Afraid this is a no win case! It’s just a tragic accident as there is not, or never had been, a crossing place where the accident took place!
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This is totally ridiculous. Motorists caught breaking the speed limit four times, even when the circumstances may have been perfectly safe, could get similar treatment. This person drove negligently and killed people through his recklesness. He should have been banned from driving for life.
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Don’t know how he sleeps at night. why fight it & make family & friends go through so much more suffering. Maybe we all need closure too?
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my nephew got banned for 2 years for playing around in a carpark on a monkey bike. whats going on? courtes cost a fortune and don’t deliver….what the tax payer pays them for. to keep the place safe, honest, secure and free from law offenders. who cares if they break the law…if the law is so lax
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Quite agree MO. Disgusting!!!!
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murder is murder no matter how its done this isnt a sentence its a joke! ban driving for LIFE pay family thousands in compensation! he’s killed 3 people and all he got was a small hiccup in his life for such a huge offence.
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Sentence definitely too light! £1000 for the loss of 3 lives, completely unacceptable! Sarah was a wonderful person and little Simon who went to nursery with my son was such a sweetheart. The loss to all those who knew her, and to those who didn’t have that priviledge, is not able to be put into a financial price. RIP Sarah, little Simon and baby Sullivan. xxx
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I cant believe he has got away with not going to prison and he should have been banned for at least 3-4 years
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This was a tragic accident and I dont believe the driver should take all the blame. There was no need for those people to have crossed that busy road as there is a flyover close by.
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I’m struggling to understand the British legal system when people are sent to jail for their children playing truant and the elderly for not paying council tax but a man whose actions led to the deaths of THREE people, wrecking the lives of three more children and a devoted husband, and he doesn’t spend a single day there and pays only £333 for each person who died. Can anyone explain????
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what a lovely chap he is,?? as for the sentence absolute disgrace but that is all i presume they could give hime for the offence he was charged with as for sleeping at night he probably does.
As for tha above comment he was the driver of the car and as such should hold all the blame he saw the pedestrians and chose to react the way he did if we all did this when people crossed where they shouldnt etc etc we would all be in court .
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Sorry folk’s, but ‘Nannysoo’ is correct. We all make mistakes in our lives, and some very much more severe than others. Nevertheless, stress, worry, eagerness to get home, or whatever. The driver made an error of judgement in a split second, but he was perhaps not the only one that day that made a dreadful mistake. Please accept that my comments are in no-way
intended to be dis-respectful to anyone involved in this tragic accident, but merely to say that perhaps some of us who were far away from this road, may well have made an error of judgement at the very same time, but elsewhere in the county. Are we all so perfect?
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A tragic story but people should read beyond the headlines. As has already been said they should have crossed at the crossing place especially when a few days away from giving birth when in the best of circumstances anything could happen. Obviously there is evidence to prove that fault does not lie 100% with the driver or there would have been a harsher sentence and I’m sure that he will carry this with him for the rest of his life. Readers should know all the facts about this case before commenting.
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found guilty of driving with out due care and attention ,as i have said if we all reacted in the same way when pedestrians cross the road in towns and villages where would we be
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There are always two sides to every story and unfortunately this newspaper article is presenting only one of them, the picture that they are painting is that the driver Chris Ballantyne was driving irresponsibly and recklessly, when that was not the case. This was an incredibly tragic accident in which three lives were lost. However it has also had a huge and devastating impact on the life of Chris and his family who have also had to live with the terrible aftermath. Some facts that haven’t been mentioned are that Chris was not speeding or drinking or speaking on a mobile phone or ignoring the road ahead. He was driving under the limit, responsibly and carefully and had his young son in the car with him. Sarah Piggott and her son were crossing a major road in busy traffic at a spot where there was no crossing. She made an error in judgment and sadly Chris didn’t have time to stop before he hit them. This is something that could happen to any of us. You don’t expect someone to just step in front of you on main road with no warning, no matter how much you are concentrating. I wish the press in this country would present all of the evidence in its articles, instead of a one sided view. It’s not fair and doesn’t help anyone that is involved in a case like this. My thoughts go out to Sarah and Chris families.
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