Driver who fled crash that killed friend and horse has sentence extended

On the morning of September 18 2012, Helmuts Punovskis sped with his friend Armands Ozolins down a single lane road in rural Shropshire.

Their reckless competition ended in a crash which left Ozolins dead. A horse was also killed and its rider - sportswoman and mother-of-three, Wendy Garrett - was badly injured.

Punovskis, 32, a Latvian, of Turreff Avenue, Donnington, Shropshire, fled the scene, leaving his friend dying.

He later tried to persuade police that the mother of his young child had been the driver of the car, when in fact she was not involved at all.

Punovskis was jailed for 12 years at Shrewsbury Crown Court in April.

He was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

Today he asked Lady Justice Sharp, Mr Justice Kenneth Parker and Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing at London's Criminal Appeal Court, to reduce his sentence.

But the judges condemned his challenge as hopeless - and ordered him to serve an extra 62 days in prison for wasting their valuable time.

Witnesses saw a Volkswagen Passat, owned by Punovskis, and a Fiat, being driven by Ozolins, racing and tailgating before the crash on Stump Lane, Weston Heath, near Shifnal.

One oncoming driver had to steer into a hedge to avoid the racing vehicles and another was forced onto a grass verge before the pair eventually came to grief.

Ozolins, 26, of Great Chatwell, near Newport, Shropshire, crashed into Mrs Garrett's horse, killing the animal and hurling her into the air.

Punovskis briefly checked on his stricken friend before driving away from the scene.

Ozolins died in hospital the next day, whilst Mrs Garrett lost a finger and suffered serious cuts and bruises.

Punovskis was already disqualified from driving and should never have been behind the wheel on the day of the fatal accident.

Slamming his behaviour, Mrs Justice Laing told him today: "The seriousness of this case cannot be overstated.

"You were racing for several miles on a winding country lane.

"Four witnesses had given testimony that the vehicles were travelling at grossly excessive speed. This was a persistent, long and deliberate piece of really bad driving."

Lawyers for Punovskis said he was grieving over his friend's death and argued that his overall sentence was far too long.

But the judge said: "The death of his friend did not carry much weight in mitigation given his callous actions.

"He sped away from the crash so as not to be caught driving whilst disqualified again.

"He was banned and uninsured and that seriously aggravated this case."

His attempt to blame his partner also made his crimes worse.

"For almost a year his partner pretended she was the driver," said the judge. "His intention from the outset had been to save his own skin.

"Almost every aggravating feature was present in this case. This case was close to an example of the very worst cases.

And she concluded: "This application is wholly without merit. This sentence was justified in every way.

"This was dreadful offending and he is entitled to none of the credit that would have been due had he faced up to what he had done.

"It seems to us we should make a loss of time order in this case and we direct that 62 days of time spent in custody should not count towards his sentence."