Drink-drive pensioner jailed for killing 11-year-old Shrewsbury schoolgirl Olivia-Violet Reeves
A pensioner who had swigged from a bottle of wine in his car has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for causing the death of 11-year-old Shrewsbury schoolgirl Olivia-Violet Reeves by dangerous driving.
Roger Goodall, of The Mount, Shrewsbury, had bought six bottles of wine that afternoon and had drunk some of it after pulling into a lay-by, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday.
Olivia-Violet, from Worthen, who was a pupil at St George’s Junior School, was killed when she was hit by Goodall’s Range Rover as she walked along Mytton Oak Road, Shrewsbury to catch a bus home after her lessons on June 15.
Despite the efforts of passers-by and medical staff, Olivia-Violet died in her mother’s arms, the court was told.
Mr Hugh O’Brien Quinn, prosecuting, said on the day of the accident the schoolgirl had been learning about road safety and it was the first time she had been coming home alone.
The court heard that 77-year-old Goodall had bought six bottles of wine from a Shrewsbury supermarket before the crash.
Mr O’Brien Quinn said that five bottles had been retrieved by police but the sixth bottle was never found.
He said Goodall had drunk a quantity of wine in a lay-by before the crash and was over the drink-drive limit.
Goodall pleaded guilty to causing the death of Olivia-Violet by dangerous driving and had previously admitted driving above the alcohol limit.
The court was told that Goodall had not notified the DVLA about two previous occasions that he had blacked out in 2016 and that he should not have been behind the wheel that day.
Mr O’Brien Quinn said hospital records showed he had been advised to report the episodes – believed to be related to alcohol issues – to the DVLA.
Witnesses told the police that Goodall had veered to the wrong side of the road and mounted the pavement, striking a telegraph pole before hitting Olivia-Violet.
Mr O’Brien Quinn said the Range Rover struck Olivia-Violet and the impact threw her over a fence, leading her to strike her head on a parked car.
He said she Olivia-Violet suffered “catastrophic injuries” but would have been unconscious from the moment she struck her head.
The court heard how Goodall, who also struck a lamp post, got out of the car and asked others what had happened. Before the police arrived, he asked witnesses whether he could leave the scene because he had been drinking.
Witnesses persuaded him to remain.
In the driver’s door pocket of the Range Rover the police later found a bottle of flavoured water that had been filled with an alcoholic drink.
Goodall failed a roadside breath test and at a police station he gave a reading of having 48 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Mr O’Brien Quinn said during a police interview he only admitted to buying five bottles of wine from a supermarket.
He told the court: “It is not possible to provide the exact reason why the defendant drove the Range Rover in the manner he did.
“The defendant should not have been behind the wheel of any vehicle that afternoon.”
He told the court that Goodall had a previous conviction for driving without due care and attention in 2010.
Ms Anna Midgley, mitigating, said it was not possible to say whether the crash was caused by a seizure, alcohol or a blackout and argued it was not a situation in which the court could conclude that the level of alcohol consumed caused a “gross impairment” of his driving.
She told the court he was an alcoholic and had attempted suicide since the crash.
She added: “He has said that his life is over.”
Judge Simon Ward handed Goodall a four-and-a-half year prison sentence and banned him from driving for five years.
He told Goodall: “She was 11 years old. Her mother was waiting for her at home.
“Olivia-Violet never made it home.
“You were driving your Range Rover along that road. You had been drinking and you should not have been driving.”
He said it was likely Goodall had another one of his blackouts due to his abuse of alcohol.
Speaking after the case, Anjuli Shergill, Senior Crown Prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said: “When Roger Goodall drove his Range Rover on June 15 he knew he had been drinking and that he had previously suffered from blackouts.
“This prosecution highlights the importance of disclosing relevant medical conditions to the DVLA, as the consequences of not doing so can not only have a devastating effect on the driver as well as other members of the public.
“Whilst he has pleaded guilty to the charges, his actions have cut short the life of a bright young girl and devastated her family. Our sincere condolences are with them at this time of profound loss.”
