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Jail for hit-and-run driver who killed teen cyclist then got cab home

“Cowardly and callous” Leo Meek fled scene after crashing into 15-year-old Jack Jones

A hit-and-run driver who killed a teenage cyclist then took a cab home where he went to bed has been jailed for 40 months.

Leo Meek,  aged 22 and from Moreton, Wirral, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, reports The Mirror.

He had pleaded guilty to causing the death by dangerous driving of 15-year-old Jack Jones, as well as failing to stop after the crash which happened at around 9.40pm on Monday 26 April.

The teenager died in hospital and Meek was subsequently identified by police, who also arrested a 48-year-old man from Birkenhead on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, and who was later released under investigation.

The court heard that Meek had been driving a Volkswagen Tiguan, which belongs to a friend’s father at between 52 and 55mph on the 30mph speed limit road and hitting the victim, who was cycling to his aunt’s house.

Meek fled the scene and after abandoning the vehicle two miles away got a taxi home, arriving there at around 12.40am, and went to bed.

Peter Hussey, prosecuting, told the court: “It is unlikely Jack knew what happened,” that he had been given “little if any room” and that there was an “inevitable danger of collision.”

He said that at “no stage did he [Meek] report the collision to the police or even the ambulance service.”

Meek said in a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing that he took “full responsibility” for what had happened and that he “found it hard to come to terms with the harsh reality that Jack lost his life solely through my actions.”

Sentencing Meek, who has also been banned from driving for three years once he is released from jail, Judge Andrew Menary QC said: “It is not altogether clear why this collision occurred.

“The most likely explanation is you simply gave him little or no room as you were overtaking him.

“A private hire vehicle just passed Jack, rather than pause to allow it to pass you attempted to squeeze through the gap.

“This was very bad driving in any view and Jack and his family have paid a terrible price.

“Without intending to be overdramatic your car effectively took out that young cyclist."

The judge told Meek that driving away from the scene was “cowardly and callous” and that he was “only concerned about yourself.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Drew said: “No sentence can repair the devastation of what happened but we hope that today's sentencing can at least provide some comfort to Jack’s family and friends.

“I hope Meek’s sentence gives him time to reflect on the consequences of his actions.

"I would also like to pay tribute to Jack’s family for the courage and dignity they have shown throughout this process, and also to the team of officers who brought Meek to justice so swiftly.

“At Merseyside Police our priority is to keep our communities safe and to prosecute any driver who puts the lives of others at risk. Every fatal collision impacts upon the lives of so many people, and we’re committed to reducing such incidents and putting those who drive dangerously before the courts.”

Following her son’s death Jack’s mother, Marjorie said he “had his whole life ahead of him” but “all our hopes and aspirations for Jack have just gone. His life was gone in a single moment for reasons we don’t understand.

She said his death was “a nightmare you cannot wake up from and know you will have for a lifetime … no words will ever be enough to express how much this hurts and what a huge loss we all have to come to terms with.

“The small comfort we have from that night is knowing he was not alone, that residents on Manor Drive heard the impact and came to help and offer comfort to Jack whilst waiting for the ambulance and people in their cars stopped traffic,” she added.

“We would also like to thank the paramedics who got Jack to the hospital so quickly, the staff at Arrowe Park Hospital who made him as comfortable as he could be and did all they could to save his life, and to Merseyside Police for all their support.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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30 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
4 likes

At Merseyside Police our priority is to keep our communities safe and to prosecute any driver who puts the lives of others at risk

Is it hell! Unless Merseyside is vastly different to Lancashire the policy is: "wait until there are buckets of cyclist blood on the road and then come up with insincere tripe like this and the usual 'our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time'- otherwise, business as usual with joke non-penalties encouraging repetition of the offence

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anagallis_arvensis | 2 years ago
8 likes

I wonder what you need to do to be banned from driving for life,?

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Hirsute replied to anagallis_arvensis | 2 years ago
6 likes

Be very, very old

Driving is an unalienable right conferred on us under magna carta and secured by brexit.

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Oldfatgit replied to Hirsute | 2 years ago
0 likes
hirsute wrote:

Be very, very old

Driving is an unalienable right conferred on us under magna carta and secured by brexit.

The 80 year old that put me in HDU for a week, unable to walk for 4 months, off work for 18 months ... Got 3 points and a small fine.

So you don't even have to be very, very old ...

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hawkinspeter replied to anagallis_arvensis | 2 years ago
5 likes

anagallis_arvensis wrote:

I wonder what you need to do to be banned from driving for life,?

Brown skin and a foreign place of birth

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muhasib | 2 years ago
3 likes

Looks like his mother doesn't take full responsibility either as she described her son's behaviour as 'out of character'.

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Captain Badger replied to muhasib | 2 years ago
1 like
muhasib wrote:

Looks like his mother doesn't take full responsibility either as she described her son's behaviour as 'out of character'.

Out of character.. and how does she know, unless he has demonstrated by being in these situations frequently before?....

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Bishop0151 replied to muhasib | 2 years ago
2 likes

Thats a lie, as he has previoius convictions. Including joyrding in stolen cars, and was a passenger in a stolen car during a high speed chase that crashed into a police car.

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Jenova20 | 2 years ago
8 likes

That sentence doesn't even come close to one deemed appropriate for the catalogue of errors this shit driver made: Dangerous driving, hit and run, manslaughter, concealing evidence, etc.

 

Sentencing guidelines need revamping and these judges need a reality check.

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tonyleatham | 2 years ago
12 likes

According to the Mirror, the driver had eight previous convictions. Clearly knows the ropes - plead guilty, get your solicitor to write a letter expressing remorse, and the sentence gets reduced significantly. Three years and four months - he'll be out in less than two, aged 24 with the rest of his life to look forward to

Small payment for taking a life.

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Muddy Ford | 2 years ago
9 likes

There is a petition, that obviously hasn't been advertised much, for increasing sentences and permanent driving bans. Perhaps when it expires, a new one with more advertising (a banner on road.cc?) https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/578391

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Bungle_52 replied to Muddy Ford | 2 years ago
5 likes

Just signed it. Thanks for the heads up. Road.cc should definitley be pushing this one.

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brooksby replied to Bungle_52 | 2 years ago
2 likes

I have, too.  Six hundred and forty odd signatures, at present...

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Wheel Spinner replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
0 likes

So have I. Over 700 so needs a lot more.

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Christopher TR1 | 2 years ago
4 likes

Disgraceful. This scumbag kills an innocent kid with his whole life ahead of him and gets a few lousy months in jail?!

And he will be allowed to legally drive again!

I can't begin to imagine how his family will deal with this.

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RoubaixCube | 2 years ago
9 likes

Meek said in a letter to the judge ahead of sentencing that he took “full responsibility” for what had happened and that he “found it hard to come to terms with the harsh reality that Jack lost his life solely through my actions.”

Yeah, That was Meek's lawyer taking responsibility. Not actually Meek himself who penned the letter but under the instruction of his legal defence team.

-----

I get the feeling there is more to this story then what is mentioned. He was possibly driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (if not both)

In any case - Thats not how one takes "full responsibility"

My prayers and condolences to the friends and family of the deceased.

I wish it could have ended in a much heavier sentence but sadly the UK's Justice system isnt quite there yet.

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Bishop0151 | 2 years ago
15 likes

This occured local to me. What this coverage misses out is that the driver (Leo Meek), has previous for joyriding. A car he was joyriding in led police in a very dangerous high speed chase around the area, and then crashed into a police car.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/yobs-smashed-police-...

He was lucky to avoid a custodial setence after this innital conviction. He was given a chance to do better and turn his life around. Yet he was apparently well known for still often speeding, although this is probably not admissable as hearsay. 

A chance he apparently didn't take. Given his past I think he was lucky with the sentence that he got, and the size of reduction for pleading guilty. The owner of the car he had lent (the father of a friend apparently) was almost certainly going to hand him in as the driver. Handing yourself in is one thing, pleading guilty to the inevitable once the police identify and trace you shoudn't attract such a heavy reduction.

"Judge Menary jailed Meek for three years and four months, which was reduced from five years to reflect his guilty plea."

So 60 months, reduced to 40, probably serve 20. Driving again in less than 5 years?

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jh2727 replied to Bishop0151 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Bishop0151 wrote:

So 60 months, reduced to 40, probably serve 20. Driving again in less than 5 years?

Well, yes, 20 month is less than 5 years.  Do you think a little thing like not having a licence will stop him from driving? His driving ban will last as long as his custodial sentence.

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EK Spinner replied to jh2727 | 2 years ago
3 likes

jh2727 wrote:

Bishop0151 wrote:

So 60 months, reduced to 40, probably serve 20. Driving again in less than 5 years?

Well, yes, 20 month is less than 5 years.  Do you think a little thing like not having a licence will stop him from driving? His driving ban will last as long as his custodial sentence.

 

This is why I believe thaat "Driving while disqualified" should get an automatic cutodial sentence of the the same length as the original ban, to ensure that they haven't driven for the prescribed length of time.

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Velo-drone | 2 years ago
15 likes

Contrast the Judge's comments “It is not altogether clear why this collision occurred. The most likely explanation is you simply gave him little or no room as you were overtaking him .... you attempted to squeeze through the gap.

This was very bad driving in any view"

With what appears to be rapidly becoming the default police response across the country to precisely this kind of close pass, of "we'll send 'em a warning letter"

At the very least they should send these drivers a photo of this guy sitting in his prison cell and a photo of the kid he killed along with the letter, with "this could be you" across the top.

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Milkfloat | 2 years ago
13 likes

3 chuffing year ban, that is utterly rediculous. Driving should be a priviledge based on your capacity to keep others safe, the judiciary seem to think that driving is a fundementak right for everybody, along the lines of breathing and talking.  

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Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
5 likes

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Manslaughter-def...

Page 9.  Sentencing guidelines for Gross Negligence Manslaughter - which is what a driver killing someone should be.

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eburtthebike replied to Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
7 likes

Secret_squirrel wrote:

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Manslaughter-def...

Page 9.  Sentencing guidelines for Gross Negligence Manslaughter - which is what a driver killing someone should be.

Sobering reading, thanks for sharing.  What is the law that says causing death by dangerous driving can't also be charged with Gross Negligence Manslaughter?  Why is there even a difference?

I can't wait until the comprehensive review of road law finally reports.

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Secret_squirrel replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
6 likes

I'm not sure but I believe usually that if there is a specific offence created by the government that takes precedent.  The rationale being the more specific law trumps the more general one.  It's essentially parliaments will that motorists who attack people with cars are somehow committing a lesser crime than if I pushed a one ton ball down a hill and hit someone. 
 

not a lawyer so don't quote me.

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quiff replied to Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
2 likes

I don't think one strictly trumps the other, but the CPS guidance on charging practice says:

"Gross negligence manslaughter should not be charged unless there is something to set the case apart from those cases where a statutory offence such as causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving could be proved... This will normally be evidence to show a very high risk of death, making the case one of the utmost gravity. This is in contrast to the statutory offences where all that is required is evidence that the driving was dangerous and that the manner of driving caused the death of another person."

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Benthic | 2 years ago
13 likes

Being convicted for death by dangerous driving should come with an automatic and permanent ban.

If not, why not?

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Captain Badger | 2 years ago
20 likes

Deep condolences to Jack's family and friends

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eburtthebike | 2 years ago
21 likes

OK, so a dangerous driver finally gets a gaol sentence, but the ban should be for life.  It's quite likely that the driver was drunk/drugged, and wanted a few days for it to clear his system.  It's all very well taking "full responsibility" when you're caught, but that should count for nothing if you didn't come forward and confess.

It was heart-breaking to read the statement of the mother, and all people taking their driving test should be made to watch videos of the relatives of people killed by drivers, and videos of recovering victims.

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Robert Hardy replied to eburtthebike | 2 years ago
2 likes

The law needs changing so that leaving the scene is an automatic drink driving conviction, akin to that of refusing to give a sample.

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Rendel Harris replied to Robert Hardy | 2 years ago
3 likes

Robert Hardy wrote:

The law needs changing so that leaving the scene is an automatic drink driving conviction, akin to that of refusing to give a sample.

100%. A cousin of mine was knocked down on a zebra crossing in the King's Road by a driver, put him in a coma for nearly three months and he's still suffering from the injuries caused nearly twenty years on. The driver left the scene and parked at his nearby home, then returned on foot and apologised to the police, saying he'd panicked. When they went to breathalyze him he said there was no point as he'd had a couple of swift large whiskies at his house to calm his nerves, poor thing - and he got away with it, if memory serves pleaded guilty to careless driving, six points and a £400 fine. A law such as you suggest would have at least got him a bit more punishment.

(Cousin got a huge insurance payout but still...)

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