Driver killed 18-day-old baby when car hit pram

A motorist killed an 18-day-old baby who was being pushed along in his pram by his parents for the first time.

James Davis' driving was described as "exceptionally bad and dangerous" when his car hit another and then hit Ciaran Morris' pram in Brownhills, West Midlands.

Afterwards, he ran off telling a passer-by he "had killed a baby".

He was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for six-and-a-half years.

He was also convicted of driving while uninsured.

Ciaran's parents told the court "the heart is forever missing a precious piece".

An impact statement by parents Codie Holyman and Cameron Morris was described as "utterly harrowing".

The court heard Ciaran's mother was so traumatised she did not initially realise her collarbone had been broken in the crash.

"She feels that she was unable to protect little Ciaran from what happened that day," prosecutors said.

Davis told his trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court he blacked out and could not remember the collision.

Jurors heard the 35-year-old had a teenage passenger in the BMW and had been driving at 67mph in a 30mph shortly before the crash on 4 April 2021.

Prosecutor James Curtis QC said Davis suddenly made a fatal manoeuvre as he veered out on High Street, Brownhills, and hit a car coming the opposite way.

"This did major damage to both cars," he added and Davis' car swerved in a curve, mounted the pavement and crashed into the pram as it was being pushed by Ciaran's parents.

The trial heard Davis's mobile was hidden from police for more than two months.

Passing sentence Judge John Butterfield QC told him: "As you drove along you allowed yourself to be avoidably distracted.

"I am sure that it was some operation of your phone because what was to happen afterwards with your phone is so highly suspicious."

The judge also remarked on the "cruelness of fate" of the crash, which happened as Ciaran was being walked in his pram for the first time, while Davis had taken a longer route due to nice weather.

The defendant accepted he had been speeding before the crash but said at the time he was within the speed limit when it happened.

"The last thing I remember was going starry-eyed. I can't remember any of it. It's like everything went blank," he told the court.

But the prosecution said he was fully fit and "there is no medical excuse for this driving at all".

Davis, of Croxtalls Avenue, Walsall, was told he was likely to serve half his sentence before being released on licence.

He was also banned from driving for seven years and three months.

After being convicted, it emerged Davis had made 11 previous court appearances for 35 offences including driving without insurance and drink-driving.

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