A drunk and speeding motorist who was already banned from driving has been jailed for 13 years and six months after a crash that killed nine-year-old Kyron Gittens-Corbett. James Connors, 32, of Gables Close, Solihull, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, November 12, and was also disqualified from driving for a further 16 years and nine months.
CCTV footage showed Connors ploughing a grey Volkswagen Tiguan into a Renault Scenic on Primrose Hill in Kings Norton shortly before 6pm on July 28. Kyron, who was a passenger in the Renault, sustained fatal injuries and died in hospital about two weeks later. His grandmother, Christine Corbett, suffered severe injuries, including a fractured vertebrae.S1S2
The investigation found Connors was more than twice the legal limit for both alcohol and cocaine at the time of the collision, and had been travelling at 85mph on a 30mph road moments before impact. He had also narrowly avoided another vehicle minutes earlier. He was subject to two driving bans on the day, the most recent imposed just two months before, and a judge described his motoring record as 'shocking', including previous convictions for dangerous driving.S1S2
After the collision, Connors was filmed abandoning the Volkswagen with passenger Kathleen Boswell. He briefly returned to the vehicle only to retrieve a bottle of what appeared to be alcohol and throw it into the canal, and a witness restrained him at the scene. He initially lied to police, falsely claiming Ms Boswell had been driving. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.S1S2
In statements read to the court, Kyron's mother, Danielle Corbett, described her son as 'imaginative, kind, caring, loving, funny, happy and compassionate', saying the family faced and would always face 'this unexplainable trauma'. Christine Corbett recalled waking inside the Renault calling her grandson's name as he lay motionless in her lap, saying: "My life is shattered. I cry myself to sleep every day."S1S2
