Dangerous driver jailed for killing Whitchurch pensioner in crash
A driver has been jailed for more than two years for causing the death of a Shropshire pensioner.
Ellis Davenport would have turned 90 at the weekend and had made plans for his first foreign trip.
Mr Davenport’s family today paid tribute to their “beloved grandfather” following the sentencing of his killer.
Mustaffa Amir El Akad was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment and banned from driving for six years and two months after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving.
Mr Davenport, from Whitchurch, was involved in the crash with the 28-year-old on Whitchurch Road, Newhall, Combermere, on November 3 last year.
Following the sentencing, Carol Hopwood, a serious injury specialist at Slater and Gordon Solicitors who represents Mr Davenport’s family, spoke of the devastating impact the accident has had on his family.
She said: “No sentence would bring Mr Davenport back but we are grateful that the court has reflected the severity of the crime in jailing Mustaffa Amir El Akad.
“As a result of his dangerous driving, a family has been robbed of a beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather. Mr Davenport’s beloved great granddaughter was only two years old when he was killed and will grow up not knowing him.
“Ellis Vernon Davenport, who was better known as ‘Monty’, enjoyed an active retirement walking the family dog and spending time with his family.
“He has missed out on seeing two of his grandsons marry this year.
“Indeed, before he was killed he was arranging his first passport to go to Spain for one of the weddings – a bittersweet trip his whole family had to make without him."
She added: “Mr Davenport’s family have been concerned that, as he was a man of 89 years old, members of the public would assume he was the one who was at fault and should not have been on the road. This was definitely not the case. He was a conscientious driver whose life was tragically cut short by the reckless act of a stranger.
“Mr Davenport’s family wants to urge drivers to be more careful on the roads and remember that just one bad decision can be fatal.”
El Akad, from Tipton in the Black Country, was sentenced yesterday at a hearing at Chester Crown Court.
