A woman killed a pensioner in a crash then desperately took to Google with questions including: ‘Can you get away with a hit-and-run?’.
Nishaben Mistry, 37, mistakenly believed she had struck a bush on Havacre Lane in Coseley, West Midlands on December 15.
But, in fact she had hit an unnamed 69-year-old pedestrian.
Mistry failed to stop at the scene of the fatal crash and instead drove home in her BMW 1.
A West Midlands Police investigation revealed that the 37-year-old would have had just one second to react to the pedestrian.
There was no evidence to support any sort of careless or dangerous driving and no excess speed or distraction.
Detectives found out Mistry had later walked back to the scene of the crash, which was by then surrounded by police cars.
Her phone was examined and revealed that she’d made several internet searches after the crash, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard.
These included: ‘What happens to hit-and-run drivers who are later found by their licence plates?’, ‘Police hit-and-run procedure UK’, ‘How long does an arrest take on a hit-and-run?’, ‘Do most hit-and-run drivers get caught?’, ‘Can you get away with a hit-and-run?’ and ‘Do the police usually find the people behind hit-and-run accidents’.
Mistry, of Butterley Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, was sentenced to 17 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, after she pleaded guilty to failing to stop or report a road accident.
She was also ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work and 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and she was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: ‘I completely understand that on first reading this sentence appears very low when someone has unfortunately lost their life on our roads.
‘However, in this case a comprehensive investigation and a detailed reconstruction by a forensic collision investigator showed that Mistry only had one second to react to the pedestrian as he was masked from view. The manner of driving in this case did not highlight any offences.
‘Nevertheless, the law is quite clear in what you have to do after a collision and for Mistry it was not what she did, but more what she did next.
‘The internet searches showed a clear and premeditated process and in passing sentence the court found that the searches in particular betrayed her state of mind as ‘calculating rather than panicked’.
‘Drivers who think it is acceptable not to stop after such a collision will be sought and prosecuted within the allowances of the law.
‘The loss of life on our roads is not something we should accept and I offer my condolences to the family in this case and thank them for their patience and understanding.’
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