Jaguar driver killed East Yorkshire grandmother Karen Harrison after 'showing off'

A driver killed a grandmother after "showing off" and losing control of his powerful new Jaguar car, a court heard.Ian Leech had only bought the car the previous day but was travelling with two tyres badly under-inflated when he hit Karen Harrison's car, causing "total devastation", Hull Crown Court was told.

The 63-year-old grandmother-of-four died at the scene at Melton Bottom, near North Ferriby, East Yorkshire.

Angus MacDonald, prosecuting, said the three-litre Jaguar XF was significantly more powerful than Leech's previous car and he had little experience of driving it.

He was "showing off" and was speeding with his "foot down" at some point during the journey home from work on 29 August 2020, the court heard.

"The defendant was struggling to control the vehicle prior to the collision," Mr MacDonald said.

Leech, who was giving a lift to a colleague, drifted over the centre line of the road, into the path of Mrs Harrison's car. After the collision, her vehicle ended up in a field.

Despite the efforts of people at the scene, she died of her injuries.

In a statement her family said they had lost the "centre of their world".Leech, 38, of Penshurst Avenue, Hessle, admitted causing death by careless driving.Richard Thompson, mitigating, said in a letter that he wanted to show his "utmost remorse for the tragic incident I was involved in". "If I could change the events of that evening, I would," he said. "I offer my deepest and sincere apology to everyone involved."Father-of-two Leech accepted that his inexperience with the car and his failure to take action when he realised that there was a problem had contributed to the accident. Judge Mark Bury told Leech: "You knew there was a defect in the vehicle and you continued to drive it at or over the speed limit when you should have been driving much more slowly."He added: "Karen was looking forward to retirement jointly with her husband and they were hoping to spend quality time with their family and grandchildren and travelling but none of that has transpired. The family's grief is all-consuming. The circumstances of the driving and the effects of it are such that only a sentence of immediate custody can be imposed."Leech was jailed for nine months and was banned from driving for two years and 18 weeks.

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