A drink-driver who killed a 12-year-old schoolgirl in a hit-and-run before falsely reporting his car as stolen has been jailed for five years and nine months.
Gary Smith, 37, knocked down Kaitlin Mitchell shortly after she got off a school bus in Byram, North Yorkshire, on 7 November last year. He fled the scene and made a fake 999 call, claiming his car had been taken from his driveway, just metres from the crash site.
Smith, of Summerfield Drive, Brotherton, near Selby, admitted causing death by careless driving while over the drink-drive limit. Police said he drove to Knottingley before placing the call, but CCTV showed him parking his car and ordering a taxi home. Tests revealed he was over the limit and had 170mg of benzoylecgonine, a cocaine derivative, in his system.
Kaitlin was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary and underwent emergency brain surgery, but died a week later. Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Graeme Wright of North Yorkshire Police said Smith's actions were 'selfish, despicable and cowardly'.
