A drug-using bus driver who fell asleep at the wheel and killed a nine-year-old girl who was cycling on the pavement has had his prison term increased by almost three years at the Court of Appeal, after the Solicitor General argued that his initial four-year sentence was “unduly lenient”.

Martin Asolo-Ogugua, driving a double-decker Arriva bus, was found to have been almost three times over the legal cannabis limit when he fell asleep for 15 seconds, drifted across the road, and mounted the pavement, fatally striking Ada Bicakci, who was cycling on the footpath with her father and brother on her way to a gymnastics class last August.

While her family were able to jump to safety, nine-year-old Ada was left with “catastrophic injuries” following the collision, which took place in Bexleyheath, south London on the morning of 3 August 2024. She died in hospital two days later.

In June, 24-year-old Asolo-Ogugua was sentenced to four years in prison and disqualified from driving for seven years after pleading guilty to causing Ada’s death by dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs.

During that hearing in June, Senior Crown Prosecutor Miranda Jollie branded Asolo-Ogugua’s actions “reckless and utterly selfish”.

Martin Asolo-Ogugua
Martin Asolo-Ogugua (Image Credit: Metropolitan Police)

Following the sentencing, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, arguing at a hearing on Wednesday that it should be increased.

Three senior judges agreed, and ruled that Asolo-Ogugua’s sentence should be lengthened to six years and eight months.

The judges also ruled that the 24-year-old should be disqualified from driving for five years upon his release, instead of the initial seven-year disqualification handed out in June, which would have included his stint in prison.

At the hearing, Lord Justice Dingemans said that while Asolo-Ogugua had “acknowledged that he had destroyed his victim’s family, and his own”, he had “disregarded the risk of danger to others for the period that he was driving”.

“He must have appreciated that he was in no fit state to drive, but continued to drive,” the judge said.

Representing the Solicitor General, Peter Ratliff told the court that Asolo-Ogugua worked as a bus driver for Arriva and had had only returned home from a social event at around 6.30am before almost immediately heading out to work his scheduled shift on the morning of 3 August. He left the company’s Dartford depot at around 8.45am, driving a double-decker bus.

CCTV footage from inside his cab showed Asolo-Ogugua “yawning repeatedly, appearing drowsy, opening the window for fresh air, and his eyes appearing to close on occasion”.

“Other road users noted his vehicle was being driven erratically” over a period of around 13 minutes, Mr Ratliff added.

He then appeared to fall asleep for “up to 15 seconds”, with CCTV showing the bus drift across the carriageway and onto the pavement, colliding with Ada as she cycled on the footpath on Watling Street, Bexleyheath.

Asolo-Ogugua was arrested at the scene, where he also failed a drug test, having taken cannabis the night before.

Mr Ratliff argued this week at the Court of Appeal that the bus driver’s sentence should be increased as there was “a lack of attention to driving for a substantial period of time” and that he drove “when deprived of adequate sleep”.

“He must have appreciated from the outset, if he had not already, that he was in no fit state to drive and what he was doing was therefore inherently dangerous,” the barrister said.

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Ratliff also acknowledged that Asolo-Ogugua “made efforts to seek assistance for the victim” at the time of the collision and had subsequently “demonstrated clear remorse”.

Representing Asolo-Ogugua, Gregory Fishwick told the court that the case was a “tragedy”, and that while the sentence “might be classified as lenient” it was “not unduly so”.

“He will never forget this. It was a tragedy, one that he will feel forever,” Fishwick said.

Following the court’s decision to increase Asolo-Ogugua’s prison sentence to six years and eight months, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby said: “Martin Asolo-Oguagua’s selfishness needlessly took the life of a young girl, causing irreparable damage to a family.

“I welcome the court’s decision to increase his sentence and would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Ada’s family.”

Ada Bicakci
Ada Bicakci (Image Credit: Metropolitan Police)

In a victim impact statement read to the court following the initial sentencing in June, Ada’s father Bora Bicakci said his family’s world was “fractured beyond repair”.

“This tragedy happened on my watch, a father’s ultimate failure. My world has been turned upside down, and with it, the foundations of my family have crumbled,” he said.

“My darling Ada. Our thanks are not enough to show our gratitude for you. We will honour your name with acts of magnitude. You will never be forgotten.”

A keen gymnast and swimmer, Ada was described by her primary school as a “popular and happy pupil”, while her parents also said she was a beautiful child with a “huge, kind heart, who loved to help those in need”.