Rosie Hanson from Minster avoids jail after causing fatal crash at Barton’s Point in Sheerness
A pizza delivery driver who was speeding and uninsured when she lost control of her car, killing a pedestrian celebrating a "dream job," has been spared jail. Rosie Hanson was travelling between 54mph and 68mph along a 40mph stretch of Marine Parade in Sheerness when her VW Golf crossed onto the opposite side of the road, mounted the pavement and struck 27-year-old Ryan Phillips.
Mr Phillips, who was described in tributes as a "kind, loving, gentle giant", was walking with his girlfriend Sophie Rowe when the fatal collision occurred near the entrance of Barton's Point Coastal Park, at around 6.40pm on January 17, 2024. The couple were holding hands and on their way to a nearby restaurant to celebrate him passing his apprenticeship and starting work as a prison IT technician, a court heard today (Thursday, July 2).
Hanson, 21, of Mimosa Avenue, Minster-on-Sea, was delivering takeaway pizzas at the time, despite not having a vehicle insurance policy covering work purposes, including deliveries. Although it was cold, dark and wet, it was not raining, streetlights were on and visibility was fine. Having later claimed to have swerved to avoid hitting an animal - a cat or fox - she initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving during a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court last December.
However, in May this year she admitted the offence, as well as a second charge of causing Mr Phillips' death while uninsured.
At her sentencing hearing at the same court today (July 2), prosecutor Tom Nicholson said evidence from her iPhone and a collision analysis expert enabled Hanson's speed to be estimated at 63mph in the 12 seconds before losing control.
She was on her way to Minster, delivering for Sheerness-based Direct Pizza Co, having worked for the firm on an adhoc basis for two months while holding down an admin job. Hanson, then aged 19, was using her phone as a Sat-Nav device, knew Marine Parade well, and was not under any time pressure. Mr Phillips and Ms Rowe, a trainee police officer at the time, were walking on the opposite pavement, chatting and laughing, when the collision occurred without warning, hitting them from behind.
Just a few seconds earlier, Mr Phillips had changed position so that he was to his partner's left and closest to the road. Mr Nicholson told the court: "She [Ms Rowe] recalled something fast suddenly coming from her left hand side, where Mr Phillips was, and hit her legs on the way past. "There was a large bang, like you might hear when a rollercoaster goes past you.
She looked down, and said 'What was that', only to look up and see the defendant's car, some 25 to 30 metres in front of her. "When she looked, she discovered that Mr Phillips was not beside her, but was lying on the concrete verge, some three metres diagonally back from the boot of the car, to the right. "When Ms Rowe ran over to him, he had blood coming from his mouth.
Ms Hanson got out of the car, and Ms Rowe told her to call an ambulance. Ms Hanson said that she did not have a phone."
The court heard Ms Rowe, who was trained in first-aid, rang 999, began CPR and chest compressions on her boyfriend and asked Hanson to help. She assisted "to an extent", said the prosecutor, but appeared to be in shock.
In the almost four-minute long 999 call Hanson could be heard in distress, saying she thought a cat had run into the road, causing her to swerve onto the kerb while travelling at 45 to 50mph. Others stopped to assist before paramedics arrived and took over life-saving attempts. However, Mr Phillips had suffered a "completely unsurvivable head injury", said Mr Nicholson.
Hanson, who had held a licence since 2022 and had no previous convictions or cautions, passed a breathalyser test.
Nor was there any evidence to suggest drugs or illegal phone use were involved, the court was told. At the scene once cautioned she told police she saw "the eye" of a cat or fox, went to swerve, mounted the kerb and lost control.
She was not arrested but allowed to go home. When interviewed eight days later, she accepted what she had said at the scene was true and that as she came over the crest of the hill, there were "two eyes glowing, about to jump into the road."
Hanson also said she felt tired after her day's work, just wanted to get home, was going no faster than 40mph and the manner of her driving was how she would drive every night doing her job. Her VW had an MOT, the brake pads recently been changed and, although the ABS warning light had been illuminated for several days, the defect would not have caused the initial loss of control, said Mr Nicholson.
The court was also told by the prosecutor that it was not possible to "confirm or negate" Hanson's account of steering away from the sight of an animal. The collision expert concluded the speed she was travelling, combined with the abrupt steering response, led to the vehicle becoming unstable, her overreacting to the situation and losing control.
"The prosecution does not seek to prove that the defendant lied about seeing the eyes of an animal on the side of the road," said Mr Nicholson. "However this is no real hazard for any driver, and certainly not sufficient to justify a sudden movement sufficient to risk the control of the vehicle."
Deeply moving and eloquent victim impact statements written by Ms Rowe and Catherine Phillips - Mr Phillips's mother - were read to the court. They were said by Judge Julian Smith to express their "incalculable and enduring" pain at the death of a "selfless gentleman and colourful character".
An apologetic letter written by Hanson was read by her lawyer, Allan Goh, who said the defendant's remorse was genuine and profound.
He also told the court that although prepared for prison, with a bag packed, she could be suitably punished with a suspended sentence. Judge Smith agreed and, on imposing 16 months' custody suspended for two years, explained although the speed was "significantly excessive", the tragedy resulted from her stupidity rather than malicious actions.
"The reason for this tragic loss is the failure of Rosie Hanson's driving. It fell below the standard of a careful and competent driver.
She knows that and has accepted that and will face the punishment that follows," he told the packed courtroom. "But the circumstances in which it happened were not criminally motivated or showed the reckless disregard like those racing, showing off or being aggressive in their driving. "She was pursuing a second job and the benign context of delivering pizza shows the true position.
She was trying to make extra money delivering food to customers. "She never wanted - and wishes desperately - for it to have never happened....Speeding to get a job done, to deliver pizza, is stupid but it is not malicious."
Judge Smith added that after careful consideration he found appropriate punishment could be achieved by way of suspending the custodial term, which he had reduced to take account of her guilty plea and age, as required by law. As part of her sentence, Hanson must complete 220 hours of unpaid work.
She was also banned from driving for three years, ordered to take an extended driving test to regain her licence, and told to pay GBP500 towards prosecution costs and a GBP187 victim surcharge, at a rate of GBP100 a month.
Picture: Stock image
Addressing the court, Ms Rowe described how she and her partner of four years were celebrating not only his new job but also planning their engagement, moving in together and starting a family - only for it all to end that night. "Ryan was a very colourful character. When he walked into a room he had a presence about him....You would always know he was there," she said.
"It is so hard to sum up having four years of Ryan in my life. Ryan was a gentle giant who would do anything for anybody. He was one of the nicest people someone could ever meet.
"Losing Ryan has genuinely ruined my life." Ms Rowe, who herself suffered bruising as a result of a glancing blow from the VW, also revealed that, having learnt life-saving skills in training for her job, she "never thought the first time I would perform CPR would be on the man I loved so much". Of their expected future together and how her grief and sorrow had not got better with time, she added: "He was so happy that night, the night he died, and I'm still so angry for him.
He has lost everything. "I just hope everyone understands how this has affected us. We were not separate people but one person and now I won't have my person anymore."
Ryan was deeply loved by so many people. He is missed every day. He meant more than words can express
Catherine Phillips, in her statement, said her son's future and her hopes for him had been "stolen in an instant". "The pain is just as raw as the day we lost him," she wrote. "The grief is constant and overwhelming. The silence left behind is unbearable.
"I have lost not only my son but my future with him. His brother has lost someone he looked up to and shared his life with. "Ryan was deeply loved by so many people.
He is missed every day. He meant more than words can express." Both women also expressed their anger, disappointment and frustration at Hanson's apparent lack of remorse, as well as comments made by her and family members on social media purportedly "justifying and defending" her actions.
Ms Phillips also criticised the police decision not to arrest Hanson that night and to charge her by email. Many testimonials were handed to the court on Hanson's behalf, while her lawyer Mr Goh told the court she had shown what an experienced life coach described as "courage, humility and empathy". Hi, it's Matt here.
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In her own letter, Hanson wrote: "I cannot put into words how sorry I am that this ever happened and if I could go back and change it I would in seconds.
"I can't even imagine how Ryan's family, partner and friends are feeling but I know it has changed me as a person...I am honestly so sorry for all the pain I have caused, that includes myself too. "From what I have seen on social media, Ryan sounded like a lovely man, which haunts me. I'm not a horrible or spiteful person."
Addressing his loved ones specifically, she continued: "[I] hope you all know how terribly sorry I am for this awful accident. I cannot imagine how it must feel to lose someone you love and I truly apologise. "If I had a chance to go back and change things, I 100% would for you and myself, hand on my heart.
I was just trying to earn an extra income. Now, I wish none of this ever happened. This was not supposed to happen.
"This collision was an accident. I just hope you can understand this was not out of spite or anger. I'm terribly sorry."
Urging that Hanson be spared immediate imprisonment, Mr Goh added: "The reality is, with a suspended sentence, it would serve as a reminder of the consequences that occurred as a result of the one mistake in her young life."
In respect of social media posts, the court was told by the prosecution that had Hanson's comments reflected a lack of remorse for what happened, they would have asked the judge to consider them.
Since Mr Phillips's death and due to concerns over the number of serious and fatal crashes in the area, the speed limit on Marine Parade has been lowered from 40mph to 30mph for a distance of 377m in an easterly direction, starting from outside the Catamaran Yacht Club.
References
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