Milkman who hit 'gentle giant' with van and left him to die 'thought he hit a badger'

Christopher Carloman hit 26-year-old Will Rogers with his Vauxhall Vivaro on the B4368 at Diddlebury, between Craven Arms and Much Wenlock, in the early hours of April 30 last year.

Kidderminster Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday how Carloman, aged 57, "thought he had hit a badger, deer or other wild animal" on the fateful night, a basis of plea accepted by the prosecution.

But, after seeing several news articles and appeals for information following the death of the agricultural worker in the coming days, and realising he might have been involved, Carloman did not come forward. It was only after enquiries were made by family and friends of Mr Rogers that Carloman was questioned a week later.

Mr Rogers had been drinking at The Swan pub in Aston Munslow with friends, leaving at around 1.30am. The court was told he drove his vehicle, but then left it behind to start walking. Investigations into the collision and the damage to Carloman's van suggested that Mr Rogers, who had a significant amount of alcohol in his system, was lying in the road when he was hit.

Carloman, of Blakemore, Brookside, Telford, had previously admitted failing to report an accident. He pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to stop after previously denying the offence.

Mr Rogers's sister Lydia Goldie tearfully delivered a victim impact statement to the court.

She said: "The day Will was taken away from us was the day our lives changed forever. As a family we are broken, and we will never be the same. The life, experiences and memories we should have been able to make with him were ripped away from us. This is something that has traumatised us all."

She described how she "lost the chance to say goodbye" to her brother due to the condition his body was in, and asked Carloman to put himself in her shoes and imagine how it must have felt.