Shropshire mother calls for harsher penalties over road deaths

Will Rogers' mother Mandy Oliver believes current penalties are too lenient for drivers who leave the scene of an accident

A mother whose son died after being hit by a van has called for a strengthening of laws used to prosecute drivers who leave the scene of a fatal crash.

Will Rogers, 26, was struck on the B4368 in south Shropshire in the early hours of 30 April 2022.

Driver Christopher Carloman received an 80-hour community order, fine and four-month driving ban at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Mother Mandy Oliver believes it does not reflect the severity of the crime.

"Somebody, my son, has lost his life and surely that deserves a higher penalty," Ms Oliver, from Ludlow, said. "We felt [as] if we didn't matter and that Will's life didn't matter."

More than 500 people attended Mr Rogers' funeral, his mother said

Carloman, of Blakemore, Telford, did not stop because he believed his Vauxhall Vivaro had hit an animal such as a badger, Kidderminster Magistrates' Court heard. The prosecution accepted this basis of plea.

The court was told Mr Rogers had been out drinking with friends at a local pub until the early hours. He had initially headed home in his car before getting out to walk on a stretch of the road near Craven Arms.

Investigations into the collision and the damage to Carloman's vehicle suggested the victim had been lying in the road when he was hit and had consumed a significant amount of alcohol.

The driver only later became aware of what had happened to Mr Rogers, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) accepted.

It was at that point he should have reported the collision, it added, with police and family appeals widely reported at the time.

The defendant initially admitted a charge of failing to report an accident, but denied failing to stop. He changed his plea on the latter charge to guilty on Wednesday.

In addition to a driving ban and 12-month community order, he was directed to pay a victim surcharge of £95 and CPS costs of £195.

"We came away with the feeling that, basically, Will's life was worth £95," said his mother. "Believe me, that boy was pure gold. He was a worth a hell of a lot more. You couldn't put a price on him."

Will, a "rugby-mad" sheep-shearer and agricultural worker was "an amazing lad", loved by everyone who met him, said his mother.

"He was just funny, he was lovable. He would do anything for anybody," she said. "As soon as you saw his smile, he just lit up the room."

The agricultural worker played rugby for Bridgnorth and Ludlow and took part in sheep-shearing competitions

Ms Oliver has joined forces with charities RoadPeace and Action Vision Zero whose Remain and Report campaign calls for strengthened legislation.

"The current charge of 'fail to stop' applies whether someone has fled the scene of a damage-only collision, such as a broken wing mirror, or left someone injured in the road," said Lucy Harrison, West Midlands group coordinator for RoadPeace.

The charities aim to introduce a new charge of failing to remain at the scene of a fatal or serious injury collision. They also want maximum reporting time allowed after a crash to be reduced from 24 hours to two.

Although reforms introduced last year gave judges power to hand life sentences to dangerous and careless drivers who kill, if culpability cannot be proven the maximum sentence is six months.

The Department for Transport said "every death on our roads is a tragedy" and added its sympathies were with the friends and family of Mr Rogers.

"While failure to stop can already be treated as a further aggravating factor in sentencing decisions, we are always open to listening to proposals of how we can go further," a spokesperson said.