Woman jailed after ex-policeman killed in Torquay hit-and-run

Anne-Marie Kennedy had no licence or car insurance

An unlicensed and uninsured driver has been jailed for killing a former policeman during a hit-and-run in Devon.

Care-worker Anne-Marie Kennedy, 29, of Moor Lane, Torquay, hit Nathan Lee in the town in May 2022 as he walked home from a festival.

She was found guilty of causing death by careless driving while uninsured and with no licence.

She was jailed for six-and-a-half years at Exeter Crown Court.

Mother-of-two Kennedy had never taken or passed a test, only bought the car, a VW Golf, a few days earlier on Facebook, and had no insurance.

She was not wearing spectacles despite having been told they were necessary for driving at her last two sight tests and was driving 10mph over the speed limit.

The court also heard Kennedy had taken cocaine while on a night out with friends at a club in Torquay 24 hours before the tragedy which took place shortly after midnight on 1 May 2022.

'Huge pain'

Sentencing, Judge Anna Richardson told Kennedy her ability to avoid the fatal collision had been affected by her speed, her failure to wear glasses, and the cocaine she had taken the previous night.

Judge Anna Richardson said: "The victim personal statements from Mr Lee's family provide a picture of him as a person and demonstrate somebody who has worked hard and achieved a great deal and tell of the huge pain which the family felt and continue to feel.

"They refer to themselves serving a whole life sentence. The ramifications of what you did are huge. No sentence I pass will change any of that."

Nathan Lee had served for 23 years in the Met Police

Mr Lee, 46, a former detective sergeant who had moved to Devon after serving 23 years with the Metropolitan Police, was walking home from the Brixham Pirate Festival when he stepped into the road as Kennedy's car passed.

He was thrown onto the windscreen and suffered fatal head injuries, the court heard.

Kennedy and her passenger left the scene, then returned to it but went home after seeing the emergency services.

She abandoned the car near Watcombe beach but handed herself in on learning the accident was fatal.

Mr Kevin Hopper, defending, said Kennedy was remorseful.

She denied causing death by careless driving and causing death while uninsured and with no licence but was found guilty of all offences in December.

Kennedy was jailed for six years and six months and banned from driving for five years after release.