Driver given suspended sentence after causing toddler's death by careless driving

Thursday 27 July 2017

A 39-year-old woman who accidentally killed a three-year-old - Clinton Pringle - after running him over in her van has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence by the Royal Court for causing death by careless driving.

Rebekah Le Gal was previously acquitted by the Royal Court of 'causing death by dangerous driving' earlier this year - the case hinged on when she had pressed 'send' on a text message before hitting the toddler in Tunnell Street last June.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by Crown Advocate Mark Temple, argued Mrs Le Gal had sent a text to her son shortly before hitting Clinton, just as she was entering the right-hand bend by Britannia Place. However, Mrs Le Gal said she replied to her son’s text much earlier, long before the accident. She was acquitted by Jurats Mike Liston and Jane Ronge.

While she pleaded not guilty to the ‘dangerous driving’ charge, Mrs Le Gal pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of ‘careless driving’. During the trial she told the court: “I fully accept that I should have seen him although I can’t explain why I didn’t see him. I believed there was nothing ahead as I followed the bend. All I can think is that if I had looked to my side window I would have seen him and I fully take responsibility for it.”

Pictured: The scene of the accident at Tunnell Street with flowers and tributes left in honour of Clinton on the right.

Summarising the case, Crown Advocate Mark Temple said that Mrs Le Gal hit Clinton Pringle on 27 June as he was crossing Tunnell Street, after exiting the passageway from Belmont Road, to go to Millennium Park. He had been on holiday from Scotland with his mum Stacey Pringle to visit family on the island. He was airlifted to Southampton Hospital shortly after the accident but died on 30 June "as a direct result of injuries sustained when he was hit by the defendant’s vehicle" said the Crown Advocate.

In her first police interview, Mrs Le Gal said she hadn't seen anyone on the side of the road. Police officers however calculated that Clinton was 59 meters away from the vehicle when he ran across Britannia Place before crossing Tunnell Street. They also stated that he and his cousin would have been in Mrs Le Gal's view for at least three seconds, with nine seconds between each. She didn't see any pedestrians, including Clinton's mum and aunt, on the sidewalk and couldn't explain why.

Mrs Le Gal was driving in a "No Entry - Except for access" only section of Tunnell Street although she wasn't accessing any premises. She explained she had meant to go to a paint shop at the top of Tunnell Street to exchange a spray can but only realised she didn't have it with her as she entered the street. She continued on past the sign to her destination, the Freedom Centre at the Old Odeon.

Pictured: Police officers say that Clinton Pringle and his cousin would have been in Mrs Le Gal's view for at least three seconds as she was driving down Tunnell Street.

The Crown Advocate quoted a report on the accident from DC Robert Manners, a forensic collision investigator, which stated: "I would expect a careful and competent driver who chose not to abide by a 'No entry - Except for access' sign to proceed with caution and heightened awareness. The fact that she failed to see the pedestrians cross, the pedestrian on the side of the road and the pedestrians standing on the other side shows a significantly greater lack of attention than a momentary lapse of concentration." 

The road layout of the shared-space area at Tunnell Street was criticised by Alex Luck, a UK chartered engineer who said that during her time on scene she didn't notice any drivers modifying their driving because the signs were unclear.

Pictured: Stacey Pringle described Clinton as the "sunshine of her life."

Crown Advocate Mark Temple read a series of statements from Clinton's parents and aunt. Stacey Pringle wrote: "No matter what I am doing, I relive the events of 27 June day by day asking myself why it happened to my son. I do wish I died that day instead of Clinton. I will never be able to forgive the defendant for not trying to help us. I try to move forward every day, but I am stuck in time. Nothing seems to make sense anymore, he was the sunshine of my life."