Gary Rarity, 43, has been jailed for seven months for his role in a theft that left a delivery driver with catastrophic injuries in Sunderland. Rarity watched as his accomplice, Michael Gill, stole the delivery vehicle filled with parcels on December 16 last year.
Incident details
The delivery driver, a man in his 50s, ran towards the vehicle to prevent the theft but was hit by the car before Gill drove off, leaving the victim lying in the road with life-threatening head injuries. Newcastle Crown Court heard that the pair had been following the delivery driver in a Volvo, driven by Gill, prior to the incident on Stannington Gardens.
Gill, 42, also known as Bobby, climbed into the victim's vehicle and drove away, hitting the victim in the process. As Gill fled in the delivery vehicle, Rarity took the driver's seat of the Volvo and drove off, despite being disqualified from driving.
Sentencing
Judge Stephen Earl called the incident "appalling" and said Rarity "did nothing" to help the victim, who suffered "catastrophic harm". Rarity, of Toward Road, Hendon, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft, driving whilst disqualified, and driving with no insurance. He was also banned from driving for two years and ten weeks and ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge.
At an earlier hearing on June 10, Gill, of Cairo Street, Sunderland, was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, theft, driving whilst disqualified, and driving with no insurance. He also received a further four-year and nine-and-a-half-month driving ban, as he was already disqualified at the time of the offences.
Victim's condition
The victim spent a week in intensive care and has only recently been discharged from hospital with ongoing support after suffering permanent damage from the attack.
Detective Inspector Ash Loader, from Northumbria Police's Major Investigation Team (MIT), said: "First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victim in this case who was targeted as he was just going about his job. No-one should be subjected to this kind of assault and since we first received the report we've been working hard to bring those responsible to justice."
He added: "Thanks to a thorough investigation and overwhelming evidence, which included hours of CCTV footage, Gill and Rarity were left with no option but to plead guilty – saving the victim the need to re-live his experiences through a trial."
Det Insp Loader concluded: "Using a vehicle to carry out an act of violence is completely unacceptable, and this case is a stark reminder of the lifelong consequences of what can happen when a car comes in contact with a human being. We are committed to cracking down on those who flout the law through dangerous driving and violent behaviour and will do all we can to ensure offenders are held accountable and have their day in court."
