Jailed: Careless driver hit pensioner who died after waiting four hours for ambulance in road
A careless driver who accepted taking cocaine a few days before knocking over a pensioner - who died after waiting four hours for an ambulance on a cold and wet road - has been jailed.
Dale Hilton was locked up for four years after being convicted last month of causing the death of George Ian Stevenson, 86, by careless driving when under the influence of a drug on March 2, 2022.
Jurors heard how Mr Stevenson was knocked over by a “glancing” blow from Hilton's Citroen C2 while crossing High Street in Johnstown, between Ruabon and Wrexham, as he made his way to the pub at around 7.30pm.
The great grandfather spent four hours lying on the cold and wet road waiting for an ambulance – eventually a single paramedic was sent more than 60 miles from Tywyn – and died after going into cardiac arrest.
The agony for his family was compounded during the trial when they heard a statement from Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers that earlier major medical intervention “could possibly have altered the outcome" before he died from massive chest trauma.
During Wednesday's sentencing at Mold Crown Court, Judge Niclas Parry said the Welsh Ambulance Service took “a wholly unacceptable period of hours to arrive”, but commended two off-duty paramedics, Andrew and Sarah Betts, who sat with Mr Stevenson on the wet ground for hours
Prosecutors told the court that the cocaine breakdown product in Hilton’s blood was almost five times the legal limit.
