Son’s heartbreaking tribute to mum killed by ‘coward’ drink-driver
A drink-driver who ran off and left a woman to die at the side of the road after running her over in his van has been jailed for more than eight years.
Vanessa Barnes, 59, was walking home after watching her son play hockey for Leeds Knights at the Planet Ice rink in Elland Road when she was hit by a Ford Transit driven by Jason Ward, 52.
Ward stopped after the collision but rather than help Ms Barnes, he moved his van out of the road and made off on foot.
Onlookers flagged down a passing police officer who gave her CPR, but she was declared dead at the scene by paramedics a short while later.
Ward, from Middleton, was arrested the following day. It emerged he had spent the three hours before the crash drinking nearly six pints of lager.
He pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the limit and failing to stop at the scene of a collision and was jailed for eight years and four months.
In a victim impact statement read in court, Ms Barnes’s son Adam said: ‘Vanessa Barnes was my Mum. An extraordinary person who treated everyone with love and kindness.
‘She was also a wife, a daughter, a sister, a carer, and a dear friend to so many. A beautiful, selfless, amazing human being, who was brutally taken from us by the irresponsible actions of a drunk driver.
‘On the night of December 10, 2022, I was playing ice hockey for Leeds Knights, a team I’d been a part of for three years.
‘My Mum and Dad had worked immensely hard and made so many sacrifices to enable me to play hockey at national league level. My Mum came to every game and never missed an opportunity to tell me how proud she was.
‘She would stand, week on week, with my Grandma, on the same bench jumping and screaming with excitement.
‘With her outgoing personality and infectious laugh, she was well known in the rink by everyone and had made many special friends within the ice hockey community over the years.
‘Every week after each game my Mum would always wait outside the changing rooms for me. When I came out, she would squeeze me so hard, chatting and laughing before we said our goodbyes.
‘Little did I know that that night would be our final goodbye before she was brutally killed by a coward who left her in the road to die with no care or compassion.
‘No words will ever be able to pay tribute to how special my Mum was. She was always happy, the most selfless, loving person I will ever know.
‘She lit up every room with her vibrant personality and infectious laugh. She was loved by everyone and will be missed every single day.
‘A sentence will be served but I believe there is no limit to the never-ending suffering and grief we now feel as a family.’
Detective Constable Mark Turner, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: ‘Ward has done everything possible to avoid accepting responsibility for his actions on that evening.
‘Despite drinking and clearly being over the drink drive limit, he got behind the wheel of his van without any consideration for other road users or pedestrians.
‘After colliding with Vanessa, he continued to think only of himself, making off from the scene to avoid the police.
‘He didn’t enter a plea until the last minute, which I am sure has extended the suffering endured by Vanessa’s family.
‘My thoughts, and those of all the officers who dealt with this terrible incident, are with the family at this time.’
Ward also received a driving ban for a total of eleven and a half years.
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