Shameless drunk driver gives thumbs up in court as he is jailed for killing barmaid in horror smash
Paul Tomlinson was seen veering between lanes and hanging out of his car window before ploughing into Susan Smythe onto a pedestrian crossing
A SHAMELESS drunk driver who killed a barmaid in a hit-and-run crash gave a callous thumbs-up in court after he was jailed for just six years.
Paul Tomlinson, 33, who had been downing vodka, was seen veering in between lanes and hanging out of the window of his VW Golf before ploughing into 59-year-old Susan Smythe on a pedestrian crossing.
Tomlinson undertook another car at up to 60mph and swerved to avoid to another vehicle, ignoring screams from his girlfriend Shelby Keedy, 20, as he hit Miss Smythe in Stretford, Greater Manchester.
Miss Smythe, who had been walking home from bingo, suffered fatal injuries in the impact and died at the scene.
In a tragic twist of fate, her police officer son Rob - a crime scene examiner - found out his mother was dead when he was asked to investigate the tragedy.
Dad-of-one Tomlinson, from Sale, Greater Manchester, was traced after his horrified girlfriend went to police.
He failed to give a breath sample after the incident on September 9 – and refused to comment in police interview.
Manchester Crown Court heard he sped off at 50mph leaving the victim to die in the road and drank from a bottle of vodka at home.
He told his girlfriend they should burn all their clothes and blow up the car, using a pair of her leggings to wipe down the steering wheel and door handles.
In a statement, Miss Keedy said: ''I was screaming at him to slow down but he knew it scared me.
“At the time of the crash I screamed at him to stop but it was a second or so before he reacted.
“I was screaming and telling him he had to go back – the life of an innocent woman had been taken.''
Miss Keedy fled the house to a nearby police patrol and told officers her boyfriend had been driving the car which killed Miss Smythe.
He was found to be considerably intoxicated and said: "Sorry I know what I've done" and added: "What, she was in the middle of the road?"
Tomlinson admitted causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
In a grovelling letter to the victim's family he said he knew Miss Smythe after attending a social club where she worked and added: ''My actions that night were that of a coward, to leave her there in the road were not the actions of a man.
''I have been brought up with manners and respect, to hold the door open for others, to stand to let the elderly sit on buses, I am truly disgusted with myself for my actions and for not giving the dignity and respect that Miss Smythe deserved that night.
''Fear and shock took over me and I drove off. I have lost custody of my daughter, lost family and friends through this nightmare I have created. I hope one day life gets a little easier for all of you, and Christmas is bearable without your loved one.''
Jailing him for six years behind bars and ordering a driving ban of eight years, Judge Stuart Driver QC added: "Susan Smythe was an innocent pedestrian and the sudden and unnecessary end to her life is a terrible loss to the family and friends.
RELATED STORIES
“No words can soften the bereavement and no sentence imposed can change what's happened.
";This was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving.
“His thoughts were only for himself. But the defendant now expresses what seems to be genuine remorse.''
But the victim’s family were less than impressed when Tomlinson thanked the judge and gave the thumbs up to his family from the dock as he learned he could free in just three years.
After the case Miss Smythe's sister Kathleen Condon, 59, said: ''I don't feel like Susan's got any justice - the fact this man put his thumbs up in court is about as disrespectful to us as you could be.
“I think he should have got more of a jail sentence and banned from driving for the rest of his life.
“He should never be able to drive again after taking someone's life.
“I can't forgive him for what he's done.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.