Student death driver charged
The driver involved in a car accident where an Oxford student was killed has been fined after pleading guilty to the charge of careless driving, provoking a furious response from the student's family.
Edmund Sutton, 21, former President of Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) and a Magdalen Classics finalist, was killed when returning home from a New Year's Eve party a year ago.
Cambridge student Andrew Ring, 20, lost control of his vehicle when on the A1 carriageway and left the road. The driver and two other students walked away uninjured.
Ring was originally charged with death by dangerous driving, but the prosecution later downgraded the charge to one of careless driving. He pleaded guilty, accepting responsibility by reason of a momentary lapse in concentration. Jonathan Kirk, prosecuting said: "The cause of the accident is not entirely clear. He (Ring) had felt tired during the journey and had encouraged the others to sing to keep him awake." Ring was fined £250 plus £83 costs, and banned from driving for a year.
The family of Sutton, described as a "rising star of the Conservative Party," reacted with fury over the down-graded verdict. Sutton's mother, Georgia, told The Telegraph: "I am so angry how they have underestimated his life like this," she said. "I am so hurt because it is just so wrong. He had so much in his life but they are saying it was only worth £250."
John Townsend, another former President of OUCA and friend of Sutton, told The OxStu: "Edmund was a special and extraordinary person, and his death shocked us all very much. I am saddened that this ruling has been a cause of such grief to his family and to those who knew him."
15th Jan 2004