Aragorn - NL Member - BBC News

[wisewood]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/4986206.stm

Terrible. Terrible thing. Worst thing about it is, this sort of thing could happen to anyone, everyone drives over the speed limit and takes corners a bit quick from time to time.

Aragorn, if you get to read this mate, our thoughts are with you!

[jamie gsi16v]

i no aragon is a very good and helpfull person but to be truthfull he kind of deserves it 4 taking a life, but again we all do it and hopefully this is a reality check and will slow some ppl down.

[wisewood]

I think comments like "he deserves it" etc can be left out of this to be honest.

I've posted this here to allow people to read about what can and does happen to real people everyday. This is a sensitive issue, and finger pointing and blaming isn't necessary.

The case has been dealt with and punishment issued accordingly.

[Dar]

I read about this just the other day and its shocking!
Its a proper double wammy punishment.
Im sure most of us have given a car a bit of stick out of the way somewhere and if your extreamly unlucky this is what can happen. Tragic:(

[JSeymour]

who hasnt taken a corner nearly twice the speed limit?


thoughts go out to the girl that died though.

[alistairolsen]

If it had happened a couple of hundred yards down the road, where the surface, width and everything is the same, but its national speed limit, then he would have seen far less of a sentence. They came down heavily due to the accident occuring in a 30 IMO

It was an unfortunate accident which led to the tragic loss of his girlfriends life and personally I dont think 3 years custodial will in any way compare to what hes been thru already.

Hopefully this will help him find some closure and he will survive ok inside and not let it get to him

[Adam Moran]

Lots of thoughts go though my head when i read this, known Kevin for many years though the car scene.

I can only imagine what has been going though his mind and how hes paying for it deep inside.

My thoughts are with you my friend.

[Stuart]

it seems that the news and judge have taken it as a field day with him being a nova driver.... bastids.
It also seems that judges across the UK are handing out some hefty punishments for motoring offences to make examples of them.


if he does even get to read this. all the best mate and lets hope the crap justice system sees you out in a 1/3rd of the time or less

[craig green]

ditto. Sentence seems rather harsh. Hope Aragorn can come to terms with his loss in good time. Quick moment of thought for the GF & family.

CG

[RJM25R]

TBH it's a tragedy, whichever way you see it. 1 young life snuffed out, 3 years of another young life wasted, perhaps a future of employment problems, guilt etc etc.

Tragic IS the only way you can describe it.

[Mike]

OMG :eek:

It makes me think twice about going over the speed limit now!

[Riggy]

really shocked to hear this , as like so many people on here , have met kev and have spoke to him a lot on msn ,

at the time of the accident he was really devastated , and i cant imagine the feeling him or linsys family will have now

if you do get to read this mate , i hope you manage to do the sentace without any major probleams , and that i hope that i will see you again at another car show atleast

[Lee H]

Think the sentence is harsh compared to some of the ones i've read about recently that have been given to illegal immigrants for motoring offences and hit and runs. This country is the pits now.

[Tim]

just sent a shiver down my spine, and a thought through my mind where i have being doing exactly the same as this chap did. But anyone of you who say you havnt driven like that at least once, is a liar.

my thoughts go out to his girlfriends family, and also with him, i hope he manages to deal with this tragedy and learn cope with it.

tim

[Ojc]

Think the sentence is harsh compared to some of the ones i've read about recently that have been given to illegal immigrants for motoring offences and hit and runs. This country is the pits now.

I was about to say, if he had different coloured skin or could'nt speak English, he would'nt have been locked away.

I feel sorry for him, I can't even imagine what it must feel like loosing your girlfriend like that.

[SRlew]

am well shocked to hear that. i remember seeing the post on here when it happened. i thought nothing was going to happen etc.

and yer it makes me think twice about going over the limit now. if you see this mate, i hope you cope with it all.

[RJM25R]

What you have to remember here is that he has been charged with CAUSING DEATH BY DANGEROUS DRIVING. This means that there are no mitigating circumstances, IE the death was caused DIRECTLY by the speeding/dangerous driving.

It is very unusual to be charged with that offence, most people who cause a death and/or injury are charged with driving without due care and attention, which carries a much lighter sentence, or some other "minor" offence.

It's like comparing Murder (Life sentence) with manslaughter (0-15 years)

Both result in the death of someone....... But the charge is directly related to the evidence/mitigating circumstances.

Scottish courts are notorious for harsh sentencing from what I read in the newspapers. They always seem to give harsher punishment than english courts.

[Adam]

Having been speaking to Kevin on Msn for a year or two now, i really feel for him, as already said, 99% of people do something on a public road that they regret, it just happens that on that day, it ended in tragic consequences for Kevin and his girlfriend.
The first few months after the accident were enough punishment for him, and now this.

Hopefully he will get through it, and be back doing what he does best, helping people out.

[Jack]

it seems that the news and judge have taken it as a field day with him being a nova driver.... bastids.
It also seems that judges across the UK are handing out some hefty punishments for motoring offences to make examples of them.
Exactly that. Its an unfortunate situation; ok so he was responsible for the car BUT we know the grief he's been though, and now to have this as well. :(

[NickWalliams]

I think alot of you are forgetting that a young girl died as a result of someone driving irrisponsibly. There are no excuses if you ask me.

[The Simps]

Don't think his entence was effected by being a nova driver tbh!

My mate has just gone down for 3 and 1/2yrs for knocking down a killing cyclist. The cyclist was stoned, in dark clothing, had no lights and was an unlit street. Because my mate was speeding 10mph over the limit and registered above on a breatherliser test its his fault.

You can't help but feel sympathy for someone to go through something like that as it is a silly thing to be speeding like that and we've all done it!

I personally feel with incidents like this and my mate who were 1st offenders and it was a genuine accident, prison time isn't the answer. Can make things worse. Far better punishments out there.

Just my thoughts.

Simps.

[Wilson]

i had a wake up call bout a year and a half ago. i took out a couple of bolards and got stuck on a central reservation driving like a **** with my girlfreind in the car. i had jus pased my test and since then i havent drove like that with her in my car. although i dont know him my thoughts go out to him and his girlfrends family. hope he gets through it ok cant imagine what hes goin through

[srs1]

i feel for kev on this one.

as riggy has said, spoken to him a fair few times, but i know he has suffered enough at the loss he has resulted in.

if kev had no insurrance, no liscense and wasn't supposed to be in the country. I think he would have gotten 6 months on probation.

sorry for the rant, but it ****ing disgusts me when illegal immergrants get away with so much. not being racist but i would kill the gits.

as for kev, in respect to the whole thing. you have suffered a huge personal loss in linsey and you will suffer for this untill the day you die.

i wish you a good and problem free sentence and i shall be pleased to chat to you again sooner then later.

[Spudly]

Dont know the guy and i cant even begin to imagine what he must be going through right now, but surely the loss of his girlfried is punishment enough, we ALL speed and drive like a puddin at times just some get away with it and some get bitten, feel so sorry for the kid and especially for the family of his girlfriend, i couldnt live with myself if i crashed with my lass in my car and hurt her!!!

Feel for ya buddy!!!

[RJM25R]

If anyone, regardless of being english, asian, croatian, or from mars had committed the same crime, they would have got the same sentence.

I find it offensive that anyone even thinks that the colour of your skin influences what sentence you would get!

[slammed saloon]

this is a very eye opening post, you cant possibly begin to imagine what kevin or the girls family have been through during thid tragic time, but i feel that i would have to agree with nick partially because a young girls life ended as a result of this. if you get to read this kevin my thoughts are with you and i am sure you will get through this all, regards, ben

[Stuart]

If anyone, regardless of being english, asian, croatian, or from mars had committed the same crime, they would have got the same sentence.

I find it offensive that anyone even thinks that the colour of your skin influences what sentence you would get!


so you dont watch the news then........... an illegal, no ins, no license etc DID hit and run on someone and they died, he got a slap on the wrist and told to not do it again...... id bet he feels no remorse etc for that. So you can be offended as you like, it actually happens in this lovely ole country,

[faker]

its easy to slate kev for what happened but to be honest we have all done it. without sounding like a pr!ck, let he without sin cast the first stone... this could happen to any one off us. even though i dont know kev my heart goes out to him and his family and the family off his late girlfriend..

[alistairolsen]

If the accident had occured a couple of hundred yards further down the raod, same surface and general style, tiwstiy etc, but crucially in a national speed limit zone, and kev had been in a 1.2 toyota yaris, what would the sentence have been? I cant help thinking that if the speed had been within the limit they would have had trouble charging him tbh. Its just unfortunate that the accident happened withing the limit, and his sentence was passed at a tiem when they are tightening up on "death by..... sentences and taking a very hard line with speeding.

I will never forget linsey, and I only knew her for a short time, bnut one cant help but feel that ruining another person present a and future is not the way to go about things. IMO a hefty fine and some community service would have been entirely more suitable than locking him away for three years with some brain dead pikeys.

[RJM25R]

Stuart, different crime.....


The unfortunate thing is that you COULD be right, but i reckon you will find that because (the case you mention) it was a hit and run, i bet there wasn't enough evidence to charge him with Causing Death by Dangerous Driving. If he (the illegal driver) was within the speed limit, even though he had no licence and insurance, he would only be charged with Driving without due care and attention, and then charged with driving with no licence and insurance

With Aragorn, there was overwhelming evidence that his dangerous driving caused the accident!

Also, it's much easier to prosecute when you kill someone who is in the car with you, because there are no variables, ie run over a pedestrian, and the police accident investigators always apportion a percentage of the blame to the driver and a percentage to the pedestrian. If you are on the kerb, it'd be 100% the drivers fault, but if you were crossing the road on a blind bend, it't prob go 50-50 and the driver would get away with it as long as he wasn't speeding, or driving with bald tyres that would affect his braking etc...

I do think it's a tragedy that Aragorn got 3 years, especially as Linseys family had forgiven him for what was a true tragedy, whoever was to blame.

[Chris]

I think alot of you are forgetting that a young girl died as a result of someone driving irrisponsibly. There are no excuses if you ask me.

Harsh, but agreed. Tragic.

[peester]

thoughts are with you.. very shocking and very real, as wisewood says.

[Nova Full]

To make matters worse, as if there not bad enough already he's going to have a criminal record which most future employers aren't going to look on to well

This could of happened to any of one of us. Gutted for him

[Gunzi]

A tragic accident, my thoughts go out to the two families involved. It's certainly an eye opener for many people, myself included.
I think that the BBC were fair to him. There is no mention of what car he was driving, they say at the bottom that he obtained his degree and the picture they have used shows a person who cleaerly looks very distraught.

[krobinson]

I dont think i can add to this, i'm truely gutted for him, he was a real top bloke to helped me out alot!

Keith

[Adam]

There is no mention of what car he was driving
There was on the earlier reports.

[Phil_G]

There was on the earlier reports.

In what sort of context? The same way they would report he was driving a Rover 25 or a Corsa if that happened to be the case?


Best of luck to Kevin. Right or wrong in his actions, he needs the support of his friends at this sort of time. Also, my sincere condolances to the family of the girl who died.

R.I.P

Cheers

Phil

[Fester]

... in his H-registered Vauxhall Nova... ...
which had been fitted with a sports exhaust...

The Beeb is rotten to the core (not referring to this incident or reporting btw)

[Phil GTE]

Thoughts go to the g/f?s family.

tbh, if I was to ever be in that situation, the prison would just be a tickbox exercise (although its easy for me to say that, its not my 3 years)

Point I?m making is, the life long personal guilt would be sentance enough


Although not everyone is like that, Kevin?s posts suggested he was going through the same thing (although I met him, I cant say I knew him well enough to make a real charactor assesment).


Everyone speeds, could easily happen, so slow down - save it for the track.

[SRimon]

HE made a mistake, harsh he always killed himself over and over about it, his msn name was always how much he missed his girlfriend..

Harsh but in the eyes of the law fair, my thoughts are with you bud

[ade]

I know where this accident took place and the road is nasty - very twisty.

There were suggestions another blue car was involved and hints that they were racing - Kev denied it at the time (racing that is). I think he said the road on either side was rutted due to heavy farming machinery churning up the edges - his wheels got stuck in the rut after he cut the corner too fine and as he tried to correct the car he over compensated, it jumped out the ditch and span putting the passenger side into a wall - that was my understanding of it anyway.

Cant believe hes gone down for it - well I can - it was enevitable - any death in unusual circumstances is looked on very heavily unless there are shed loads of witnesses - the only consolation is its probably a bit of a weight off for him - this moment has been bulding up for a long time and now its done. Now, its a case of head down and do the time - I dont think he'll serve the full sentence. May be out after half.


Kev - take it easy big man - thoughts are with you (and Lindseys folks) as always

Ade