A delivery driver has been sentenced to six years in prison after a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre led to a head-on collision that killed a seven-year-old girl and left her father with permanent injuries.
Tragic Collision on Lincolnshire Road
Veselin Dudenski, 39, was working as a parcel delivery driver on January 3 when his white Citroen Relay van smashed into a blue Kia car carrying Elsie Gascoigne and her father, Jamie, in Nocton, Lincolnshire. The incident occurred around 5.45pm on the B1202 at Metheringham Heath.
Elsie had been returning home from a shopping trip and visit to McDonald's when the collision happened. She sustained a broken neck in the crash and died in hospital the following day. Her father, who was driving, suffered serious injuries resulting in a permanent elbow disability and continues to experience flashbacks and nightmares.
Dangerous Driving and Legal Consequences
Dudenski, a professional driver with 17 years of experience, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury to Jamie Gascoigne. The court heard how he had initially overtaken a Ford Ranger safely before attempting to pass another vehicle in a hidden dip.
Claire Holmes, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that there were clear warnings about the hidden dip, including road signs and markings. She stated Dudenski had either paid "insignificant attention" to these warnings or had seen them and chosen to ignore them.
The driver of the Ford Ranger who witnessed both overtakes described the second manoeuvre as "silly" and stopped to help at the scene. The witness told Dudenski: "You killed a kid" after seeing Elsie in the back of the damaged vehicle.
Family Impact and Sentencing
A victim impact statement from Elsie's mother was read in court, describing how the day "destroyed our lives and everything we were as a family." She remembered Elsie as a child who "loved animals, especially horses and dreamed of owning a white horse."
She added: "We will never recover from this. Our daughter was seven years old, full of love, light and laughter, and she is gone forever."
Passing sentence, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Dudenski: "You simply did not take the time and care you needed to ensure that when you crossed the centre line into the other carriageway it was clear." The judge noted she had not seen remorse for Elsie and her family until the day of sentencing.
Charles Myatt, mitigating, said Dudenski was familiar with the area but mistakenly thought he was at a different part of the road and didn't know the hidden dip was there.
Dudenski received a six-year prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving with a concurrent 22-month sentence for causing serious injury. He was disqualified from driving for eight years.
The court heard that Dudenski, who has a young child and permanent settled status in the UK, is now liable for automatic deportation as a foreign national convicted of a serious crime.
