West Midlands families criticise sentences for road deaths

Families across the West Midlands have called for tougher sentences around road traffic collisions. Leanne Vaughan said her daughter Lily-May was treated like "roadkill" and criticised the sentencing for death by dangerous driving after Lily-May's boyfriend was only sentenced to five and a half years. During the trial, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard Lily-May died at the scene of the crash after the car driven by Logan Addison, who was 17 at the time, hit an electricity pole and flipped onto its roof.

An investigator at the scene after the crash believed Addison had been travelling at more than the 60mph speed limit on the country lane. Ms Vaughan said: "It was a straight road with clear driving conditions. She shouldn't have died.

The crash wiped out the CCTV, so the police were never able to say that speed was involved even with the reports from eyewitnesses. The problem with the justice system is that you can't apply common sense." Ms Vaughan waited years for the case to go to court and has called for tighter rules around licensing.

She said: "There are less resources for collisions, so it always takes longer to get to court. Lily-May was treated like a piece of roadkill when in reality, our world had been turned upside down. "For the two years it took to go to court, I wanted my voice heard, but I was forced to be silent as I didn't want to prejudice the court proceedings.

"The licensing rules need to change as he was able to continue driving whilst waiting to go to court. He was also given a shorter sentence for being 'emotionally immature'. "The lenient sentences are wrong and the delays are really tough for families."

This is a sentiment shared by Roger Bates, whose brother Anthony, aged 68, was killed on the A40 near Cheltenham in May 2017. Anthony's friend John Dixon was severely injured. A van driver, Luke Peer, crossed over the double white lines into the lane Anthony and John were travelling in and hit Anthony's car head-on.

In 2018, Peer, of Upton St Leonards, admitted causing death by dangerous driving, but Mr Bates said the family not only had to endure the pain of losing his brother but also the court delays. Mr Bates, from Walsall, said: "It changes lives. I can't stress enough the impact collisions have on families.

My brother was full of life, he would do anything to help anyone. He was an absolutely great person, a wonderful husband and the best dad I've ever known to his two daughters. He absolutely doted on them.

"My brother was taken so cruelly, and then the court case that followed was such a farce. He [Peer] was only given a 20-month suspended sentence. Before that, we'd had the court case cancelled twice.

"How can this be justice? It doesn't sit right with me that the sentences are so lenient." Lucy Harrison, who supports families affected by road traffic collisions in the West Midlands, said: "With gun crime, every time there is a shooting, there is uproar, but every time there is a death on the road, there seems to be some level of acceptance.

"It is seen as something that just happens every day, when in reality, there needs to be more conversations and legislation to reduce the risks of this happening and make our roads safer. "The court cases are very complex. For a murder, you might have 50 officers on the case, but for a road death, there might only be a handful of officers working to gather evidence.

This causes a lot of delays and it can take years for a case to get to court. "Even when you get a sentence, like for Leanne, it was five and a half years, but he will only serve a percentage of his sentence. Many families end up getting letters within a few months to say that the defendant has been moved to an open prison.

It's heartbreaking." Zia Akbar, of Plaistow, London, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in July 2024 for causing the death of Megan and Barry Salt following a collision on the A34 in Stone in January 2022. Their granddaughter Paige Dunn said that at the end of 2025, the family were told that Akbar had already been moved to an open prison.

In December 2025, she said: "It just so happened that me and my auntie questioned a piece of paper we were sent. We were reassured that he wouldn't be moved to an open prison any earlier than 2030, but then we received a phone call to confirm he was already in an open prison. We've heard no other updates since."

Ms Harrison, whose brother Peter Price was killed whilst walking home in Birmingham in 2014, said it took 19 months for the family to get justice. She said: "We waited over a year and a half for the case to get to court. It was torturous.

Peter was only 39 years old, he was still young and had so much left to give the world. "We had no goodbye or time to prepare. My parents had to bury their son and I lost my best friend, but the sentences don't reflect the impact on families."

Following the publication of the Road Safety Strategy in January, a consultation has been launched, which includes suspending the driving licences of those under investigation for the most serious driving offences.

The Department for Transport Road Safety Strategy said: "The government is committed to reviewing the motoring offences framework, which has not been substantially changed since the introduction of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

"This will bring it up to date, ensuring that penalties are appropriate to the harm caused, and that they act as a suitable deterrent."