A505 Hitchin crash driver taken wrong way by sat-nav - court

Raja Waheed Khan died after a car being driven by Perry Johnson struck his Toyota Prius head-on

A chef who killed a taxi driver after he mistakenly followed his sat-nav the wrong way along a road has been spared an immediate jail sentence.

Perry Johnson passed oncoming traffic on the A505 between Luton and Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, and crashed head-on with Raja Waheed Khan's Toyota Prius.

Both cars were travelling at about 60mph when they collided in 2021.

Johnson, of Stonar Gardens, Sandwich, in Kent, was handed a one-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

The 31-year-old had been convicted of causing death by careless driving at St Albans Crown Court.

Judge Michael Grieve KC said the case highlighted "too much reliance on sat-nav systems".

Perry Johnson's sat-nav had directed him to turn right out of Carter's Lane near Hitchin

Mr Khan, a father-of-three aged 46, died at the scene of the crash which took place at about 23:30 BST on 10 September that year.

His passenger was seriously injured and spent a week in hospital, while Johnson and his partner were treated for minor wounds.

The court heard that Johnson turned right from Carter's Lane, formerly known as Wibbly Wobbly Lane, after a night out with his partner and drove at the oncoming traffic.

His sat-nav had indicated a right turn and he failed to notice the no-entry sign.

"It was an over-reliance on a sat-nav. He was in unfamiliar territory," Charles Durrant, mitigating, said.

St Albans Crown Court heard Perry Johnson had been "over-reliant" on his sat-nav

Mr Durrant said a surveyor had made 12 recommendations to improve safety at the junction the previous year, but only one had been enacted.

But Stefan Weidmann, prosecuting, said Johnson's mistake was either "incompetence or inattention" and added: "There were clear indicators that he was going the wrong way. There were huge road signs."

In a statement read to the court, Mr Khan's widow Rabina, from Luton, said: "I have lost the love of my life. After my husband's death, life has become lonely for me and my girls. My family fell apart."

Johnson was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 costs. He was banned from driving for two and a half years.

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