Upset over sentence for hit-and-run driver
A man who killed Ilkeston soldier and father-of-three Stephen Brough in a hit and run accident has been sentenced to 30 weeks in prison.
The family of Sgt Brough, 39, have said they are "sorely disappointed" at the sentence, of which Colin Brown, 57, will probably only serve half.
Derby Crown Court heard Brown did not stop or slow down after he hit Falklands' veteran, Mr Brough, outside his Heanor Road home, where he and his family had been celebrating his daughter Chelsey's admission to university.
Instead, he continued to drive to his father's home nearby where he parked and walked with his wife to a nearby pub.
The court heard Brough had been helping to fit a child seat into a guest's car at the end of the party when he was hit, and was thrown ten metres by the impact.
He died shortly after at about 12.45am on September 7, 2008, following efforts by family to resuscitate him.
Brown, of Church Street, Ilkeston, was arrested in Ripley two days later after a neighbour, noticing damage to Brown's Vauxhall Corsa, notified the police.
The court heard he had told officers at Ripley police station, "I have come to give myself up".
Prosecuting, Mark Watson, said: "This defendant must have known immediately that he had hit something or someone.
"There is no evidence of him braking. He continued to drive along."
In a written statement, the family said: "No sentence is long enough to justify his untimely death. We are of course sorely dissapointed at the level of punishment passed for such a crime."
Brown pleaded guilty to charges of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report it, and causing death by dangerous driving, on Friday July 3.
Judge Michael Foster said Brown would serve half of his custodial sentence and would be banned from driving for two years.
Sgt Brough served in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for 22 years and had secured a job in Calgary, Canada, for when he retired in 2010.
The court heard that Chelsey, 19, deferred her entry to university by a year following her father's death.
Brian Dean defending said Brown had a son aged 31, who was schizophrenic and was his full time carer. His 89-year-old father who had recently suffered a stroke was highly dependent on him.
He said: "The defendant is very concerned that if he goes to prison that he will never see his father again."
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