Driver who killed student has sentence increased

Oshada Jayasundera, a Sri Lankan national, was on an MSc project management course at Nottingham Trent University

A driver who killed a mature student while being pursued by police has had his sentence increased.

Joshua Gregory was driving his employer's vehicle without insurance in December when he fatally struck 31-year-old Nottingham Trent University student Oshada Jayasundera.

After being jailed for nine years in March, the 28-year-old's sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General - a senior government legal officer - who claimed it was "unduly lenient".

On Friday, three judges increased his sentence to 10 years and 10 months in prison.

Mr Jayasundera was pronounced dead at the scene

The Court of Appeal judges also ordered that Gregory, of Westfield Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, be disqualified from driving for seven years and two months upon his release from prison.

Giving their judgement, Lord Justice Dingemans, sitting with Mr Justice Bryan and Judge Nigel Lickley KC, said the original sentence was "insufficient" and that Gregory's dangerous driving was "prolonged, persistent and deliberate".

Mr Jayasundera had been returning home from a birthday party with friends on 13 December last year when he was struck by a Ford Focus, which Gregory had taken from the garage he worked at without permission.

He was pursued by police after he was spotted swerving in Sherwood Rise at about 03:10 GMT, prosecutors said.

Gregory, who appeared via video link from HMP Ranby, did not react as his sentence was increased

Gregory reached speeds in excess of 80mph in a 30mph zone during the police chase and the force was such that Mr Jayasundera's body was propelled 46m (150ft).

He later hit the central reservation before abandoning the car and fleeing on foot.

When he was eventually caught, he admitted to officers that he was drunk, but refused to provide a breath sample.

Nicholas Hearn, representing the Solicitor General on Friday, said it was "a matter of extreme fortune that only one member of the public died" due to Gregory's offending.

Andrew Wesley, for Gregory, said that the sentence was not "unduly lenient" and that he had shown "remorse".

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