Death Message

ALSO BY DAMIEN BOYD As the Crow Flies Head in the Sand Kickback Swansong Dead Level Death Sentence Heads or Tails Dead Lock Beyond the Point Down Among the Dead Dying Inside Carnival Blues This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 by Damien Boyd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781662507359 eISBN: 9781662507342 Cover design by @blacksheep-uk.com Cover image: ©Richard Nixon / ArcAngel; ©air_studio / Getty Images For Tim, Phil and Matt Contents Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Seven Chapter Forty-Eight Author’s Note About the Author Follow the Author on Amazon Prologue IN THE CROWN COURT AT BRISTOL THE QUEEN - v – CHRISTOPHER GREEN SENTENCING REMARKS OF MR JUSTICE BARLOW You have been found guilty of a single count of Causing Death by Dangerous Driving. You told a pack of lies in a feeble attempt to deflect blame for what happened on to others, but this jury saw through you very quickly. The facts of this case are that in the early hours of the 28th of February this year an empty Iveco tipper lorry driven by the Defendant struck Mr Jackson Ogunwe. According to his tachograph, the Defendant had been travelling at speeds of 54–58 mph and was thereby exceeding the prevailing speed limit. Mr Ogunwe was struck by the nearside front of the Defendant’s tipper lorry, before being crushed under the nearside rear wheels. It is perhaps some small crumb of comfort to Mr Ogunwe’s family to know that he was killed instantly. An eyewitness saw the Defendant’s lorry veering towards the nearside crash barrier. He gave evidence that in his opinion the Defendant was exceeding the speed limit and appeared distracted. We shall never know what it was that distracted the Defendant, but the tachograph and evidence from the investigating officer confirm much of what the eyewitness saw. Perhaps it was tiredness, which is nevertheless indicative of a reckless disregard for the safety of other road users. The tachograph confirmed the Defendant had been substantially exceeding his legal driving hours on the day of the collision, although in an appalling lie dismissed by this jury, the Defendant alleged that the tachograph before this court was not his, and had been switched by the police. I have read the victim impact statements submitted by Mr Ogunwe’s mother and father telling of their devastating loss. Both speak of their grief at the death of their son at such a young age. Jackson was a young man full of promise, with his whole life ahead of him; a dearly loved son and a talented artist. His parents have sat through the entirety of this trial, demonstrating the utmost dignity whilst being forced to listen to the Defendant’s false and distressing allegation that their son was pushed in front of his lorry. Yet another allegation, I might add, that has been comprehensively dismissed by this jury. I am obliged to consider the Sentencing Guidelines, and in my judgement the fact that the Defendant was exceeding the speed limit and driving in excess of the legal time limit adds to the Defendant’s culpability. His conduct was reckless and I am satisfied that the eyewitness observations are accurate and that the Defendant’s actions posed a substantial risk to other road users. In my judgement this is a Level 2 case, and taking the above factors into account I take as my starting point 3 years’ custody. I am also obliged to consider whether there are any aggravating factors in this case and there are not. The Defendant has no previous convictions and remained at the scene until the emergency services arrived. It is right that claiming the victim was responsible for the collision is an aggravating factor, but the Defendant has not done that in this case, instead alleging that a person or persons unknown pushed the victim in front of his lorry. I have no doubt that this caused additional distress to Mr and Mrs Ogunwe, but it is not, in my judgement, an aggravating factor. I have taken into account everything that has been said by Mr Bullock on the Defendant’s behalf. The Defendant is 31 years of age and has been employed as a driver for the last 7 years with an otherwise unblemished record. He has a long term partner who is pregnant. I am satisfied, therefore, that the balance of aggravating and mitigating factors does not warrant an increase in the starting point and, accordingly, the sentence that I pass is 3 years. I am conscious that the Defendant makes his living as a driver, but I am obliged to impose a period of disqualification upon conviction for this offence and do so for a period of 6 years. The Defendant will stand. Christopher Green, I sentence you to 3 years’ imprisonment. In addition, you will be disqualified from driving for 6 years. I further order that the disqualification shall continue until you pass an extended