Tinted window impeded speeding driver before crash

Charles Pickering has been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday

A speeding van driver who hit and killed a mother of three as she was crossing the road has been jailed.

Charles Pickering had been driving at speeds of up to 60mph in a 40mph zone before he hit Tracey Rimmington, 54, in Prince of Wales Road, in Sheffield, on the night of 1 October 2022.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the windscreen in the 24-year-old's van had been heavily tinted, which had impeded his vision.

Pickering, of Whirlow Croft, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and was jailed for 18 months. He was also disqualified from driving for three years, with an extension period of nine months.

Laura Marshall, prosecuting, told the court that had Pickering been travelling within the speed limit he would have had sufficient time to react or Ms Rimmington would have had enough time to cross safely.

During police interviews, he refused to answer questions about any modifications to his vehicle, but stated he had been unaware the tinting had been more than legally allowed.

Pickering, who had no previous convictions, did not have any alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the collision.

The court heard he was remorseful and that his imprisonment would negatively impact his employees and family, in particular his fiancée and baby son.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told the defendant: "I do not doubt for one moment that you are filled with remorse, I regard that as genuine, but you fall to be punished for what you did."

'Broken-hearted forever'

A statement read out in court by Ms Rimmington's son, Ryan Meeds, described how "truly special" and "remarkable" his mother, a senior cleaner at Sheffield's Phillimore Community Primary School, was.

"She was funny, she was the life and soul of any room," Mr Meeds said.

"My mum touched the lives of many people before she was taken before her time.

"We are brokenhearted forever. This is just the start, we have the rest of our lives to live without our mum."

Gillian Briggs, headteacher at Phillimore Community Primary School, said staff, children and parents had been "deeply shocked and heartbroken" to learn of Ms Rimmington's death.

In a statement to the court, she said Ms Rimmington had been known for her kindness, professionalism and sense of humour and that her absence was "profoundly felt".

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