from the UK but law is essentially the same.....
Land Rover death crash father jailed for two years for causing the death of his four children
A man was jailed for two years today for causing the death of four of his children by driving dangerously.
Father-of-seven Nigel Gresham, whose children died when his dangerously modified Land Rover plunged into a river, was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.
Gresham was found guilty of four counts of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial at the same court last month.
During the trial, the court heard the 37-year-old was behind the wheel of his modified Land Rover when it careered into the River Witham, Lincolnshire, on September 16, 2007.
His children Willow, two, Angel, four, Thor, six, and eight-year-old Keavy - passengers in the four-wheel drive - died in the crash at Tattershall Bridge.
Gresham, formerly of Chapel Hill, Lincs, kept his head bowed as sentence was passed in front of a packed public gallery.
Judge Michael Heath told him he would serve at least half of his two-year sentence and would be disqualified from driving for five years.
Sentencing today, Judge Michael Heath said: "I have to express the sad and harsh reality of your position in plain terms.
"You were found guilty by the jury of four counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Those who died were the four youngest of your seven children. What happened was horrendous.
"I do not need to rehearse the dramatic details. The evidence against you was overwhelming.
"The simple fact is that your Land Rover should not have been on the road. It was, to coin a phrase, an accident waiting to happen.
"The vehicle was in appalling condition, its many and various defects were plain from the expert evidence given at trial."
The judge said collision investigators had never seen such a badly maintained vehicle before.
He said Gresham had failed to maintain the Land Rover and some of what he had told police when interviewed about the state of the vehicle went "beyond complacency into arrogance".
The judge added: "Not only would it have been blindingly obvious that driving the Land Rover in that condition would be dangerous, but you also drove it in a dangerous manner. You were driving that Land Rover too fast for that road.
"The inescapable fact is that the blame for this accident lies entirely with you. I have not the slightest doubt, for it is obvious, that you desperately regret what happened.
"The best expression of remorse would have been a plea of guilt.
"I find it hard to understand how you could place the lives of your partner and seven children in grave danger by allowing them to travel in such a vehicle."
The judge said the impact of the accident on everybody was "immeasurable".
During the trial last month, the court heard Gresham was driving along Witham Bank at between 50mph and 60mph when he confronted a Transit van towing a trailer of canoes in the opposite direction.
He pulled the Land Rover over to the nearside but as it mounted the grass verge a bracket close to the rear axle snapped.
This turned the car on to its side, before it flipped over, rolled down the bank and plunged into the river.
Members of the public rushed to help the family, but four of the seven children did not survive.
Gresham, his partner Sara Bolland, 31, and their three eldest children, Liam, 14, Amber, 11, and Star, 14, survived the crash.
The court heard the Land Rover had many "ill-judged" modifications to improve its off-road performance.
Police investigating the case said was the "worst maintained" vehicle they had seen in years and "completely unroadworthy".
Officers found 30 defects on the yellow Land Rover 110 Station Wagon after the crash, including a failing hand brake, worn rear brake drums and shoes, loose steering wheel and mismatched calipers.
After the case, the senior investigating officer said any one of the defects "could have failed with catastrophic consequences".
Gresham denied the four charges and told police he "did everything he could" to avoid the tragedy.
He described the vital last seconds before the accident as a "no-win situation", the court heard.
The children's mother, Sara Bolland, broke down as she made a statement outside the court after the sentence today.
She said: "I would like to thank everybody who helped at the scene on the day of the accident.
"I can't thank people enough for what happened.
"The prison sentence for Nigel, I don't feel it's enough for my children's lives but also I am sure he is very sorry for what happened.
"Whatever happens from now on in, it's never going to bring my children back.
"Now I wish that we be left in peace to carry on and try to rebuild lives with my three children."
Sergeant Dave Kay, senior investigating officer in the case, added: "This has been a long and difficult investigation, probably the most difficult collision investigation I have had to deal with in my 29 years.
"I want to draw a line underneath this now.
"I have said many many times that there are no winners in fatal crashes.
"Nobody has won out of this collision, nobody has won out of this prosecution.
"I just hope the family can start to rebuild their lives, and that includes Nigel Gresham as well."
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