A teenager has been sentenced to four years in a young offenders' institution after he admitted causing the death of a 74-year-old woman by hitting her with a high-performance sports car he was driving without permission.
A Tragic Day on Church Road
The incident occurred on November 19 last year on Church Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk. Lewis Meadows, who was 18 at the time, was at the wheel of a client's Nissan GTR, a sports car valued at £84,000. He was on his way to his father's motor valeting business but did not have permission to drive the vehicle, which had been modified to be 'particularly powerful'.
Witnesses saw the car suddenly swerve onto the footpath and smash into Mrs Mary Kinsey, who was walking to her local shops. The pensioner was taken to Ipswich Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Reckless Behaviour and a Guilty Plea
During the hearing at Ipswich Crown Court, evidence revealed a pattern of reckless behaviour. Videos extracted from Meadows' mobile phone showed him driving other cars aggressively, revving their engines and shouting. Multiple clips depicted him driving one-handed, and witnesses described his driving on the day as that of a 'complete nutter'.
Meadows initially entered a not guilty plea but changed it to guilty on September 8, prior to his scheduled trial in January.
Heartbreak in Court and Tangible Remorse
The human cost of the tragedy was laid bare in court. Mrs Kinsey's husband, Ken Kinsey, read a heartbreaking victim impact statement, saying, 'I miss her terribly every day. I come back to an empty house that used to feel like our home. I miss Mary's happy, smiling face every day.'
In a letter to Judge Richard Kelly, Meadows expressed full acceptance of his blame. His defence counsel, Matthew McNiff, read the letter aloud: 'It's all down to me. It's all my fault. My choices, my stupidity... I disrespected Mrs Kinsey and other people. I was selfish.' The judge described this remorse as 'tangible'.
Sentencing Meadows, Judge Kelly condemned his actions, stating he had driven the powerful vehicle 'like a toy' and was 'deliberately trying to push this very powerful car's capabilities' on a residential street.
In addition to the four-year custodial sentence, Meadows was disqualified from driving for seven years. He will be eligible for release after serving half of his sentence, with the remainder spent on licence in the community.
