Karan Soni jailed for killing man in Luton who robbed him

Tola Piper, 34, of Bedford, was struck by a vehicle in Dewsbury Road, Luton, on 29 November and died at the scene

A drug dealer who ran over and killed a man who had robbed him of his drugs and cash has been jailed.

Tola Piper, 34, of Bedford, was struck by a vehicle in Dewsbury Road, Luton, last November and died at the scene.

Karan Soni, 27, of Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, was convicted of manslaughter last month.

A judge at Luton Crown Court jailed him for 10 years and four months and banned him from driving for five years and 11 months.

During his trial, the court heard Mr Piper had robbed Soni at knifepoint on 29 November before Soni drove a Vauxhall Insignia into Mr Piper causing him to fall onto the bonnet.

CCTV footage played in court showed the Insignia then crashed into the victim's getaway car, a Nissan Micra, before rising up in the air and coming down on top of Mr Piper, causing fatal chest injuries.

About £1,000 in cash, a knife and wraps of cocaine were found strewn across the road, which Soni later admitted belonged to him, the court was told.

'Freak incident'

The prosecution argued Soni "deliberately" drove Mr Piper down and used his car "as a weapon".

Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew said: "Mr Soni was dealing in Class A drugs. This gave him the motive to get his drugs and cash back from Mr Piper. He angrily pursued Mr Piper."

When Soni gave evidence, he told the court he had been trying to block the robber's getaway car and did not realise his car had gone onto the pavement.

Soni, of Birchwood Avenue, was found not guilty of murder but was convicted of manslaughter.

The judge, Mrs Justice Sara Cockerill, said the jury's verdict had shown they "were sure the impact was not the result of an accident but that you deliberately drove at Mr Piper", but that the victim's death was the result of a "freak incident".

She said that under normal circumstances, the victim would not have suffered serious harm but as the wheels of the two cars interlinked, Mr Piper was catapulted into the air from the bonnet of the Insignia and ended up under its wheels.

She said the offence was aggravated because Soni was on bail, had used the car as a weapon and left the scene without reporting what happened, but said it was mitigated by the fact that he was remorseful.