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news
Florentine Chinanga-Chou (picture via West Midlands Police)Driver in stolen car who killed cyclist while fleeing scene of burglary jailed
A driver who was making a getaway from an attempted burglary on a branch of Boots and lost control of a stolen car, killing a cyclist who was riding on a shared-use path next to a road, has been jailed for nine years.
Florentine Chinanga-Chou, aged 19, was on his way home from a night shift at parcels firm Yodel when Christopher Talbot, 38 and from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, ploughed into him in the early hours of 27 November 2020, reports the Birmingham Mail.
The teenage victim, whom Wolverhampton Crown Court heard had arrived in the UK from his native Cameroon a year earlier in search of a safer life, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in
The court was told that Talbot, who had a string of previous convictions for burglary as well as motoring offences, had driven with two women in the stolen Vauxhall Corsa to the Mander Centre in Wolverhampton on the evening of 26 November 2020.
They used a concrete block to smash the glass doors of a branch of Boots, triggering the alarm, and fled without taking anything after police rushed to the scene.
Talbot, together with the women, fled the scene in the car, which was later spotted a few miles away by police in Wednesbury at around 1.10am, with officers giving chase.
In what was described by Harinderpal Dhami, defending Talbot, as a “desperate attempt” to evade police, he switched off the car’s headlights and drove at more than twice the 30mph speed limit along Midland Road in Darlaston.
Near the junction with Willenhall Road, he lost control of the vehicle, which crashed into Mr Chinanga-Chou, who had been riding in the opposite direction on the shared-use path on Midland Road.
Talbot, who is said to have briefly lost consciousness, was pulled out of the car by police officers but managed to evade them and fled the scene with one of the women. He was arrested by officers from West Midlands Police the next day.
While in police custody, he was heard on the phone to friends and family making “derogatory” and “racially abusive” comments about Mr Chinanga-Chou, the court was told.
Talbot pleaded guilty to burglary, causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving whilst uninsured, and causing death by driving whilst unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured.
As well as sentencing him not nine years’ imprisonment, Judge Stephen Thomas banned Talbot from driving for 14 years.
He told him that on the night of the fatal crash, Mr Chinanga-Chou “had done nothing more than put in a late night shift at Yodel and was cycling home.
“Unbeknown to him, you were out and about in a stolen car.
“You, in the course of your dangerous driving that night, took that young man's life away. It’s not possible to get that back.
"Mr Chinanga-Chou was riding along the cycle path not interfering with anybody.
“You were coming in the opposite direction, lights off, travelling at speed.
“You lost control and skidded across the road, flipped over onto your roof and collided with that young man, unfortunately killing him.”
In his sentencing remarks, the judge also highlighted an incident in March this year in which Talbot had reversed a stolen Ford Transit van at police officers, injuring two of them, and damaging six police vehicles and two vehicles belonging to members of the public.
“You are an absolute hazard on the road as far as other users are concerned,” the judge added.
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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27 comments
I wonder if the police considered the risk of giving chase to be acceptable before doing so, or whether they just didn't bother. An entirely avoidable tragedy. My condolences to his family.
Interestingly, there was just a change in law. Police driving is to be measured against the standards of a professionally trained advanced driver, closing a loophole where police, driving in a professional manner, would fall foul of the courts if there was an incident where legislation only judged the against the normal standard of driving (no not that one, the hypothetical careful driver).
If they are professionally trained and have kept that training up to date they have more leeway to do things like tactical stops. So the police may now be more willing to engage in pursuits.
It's not the risk associated with the driving standards of the police that are at issue here though. The police vehicle didn't collide with the victim.
As far as I know the police, like any employer are legally required (by section 3 of The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974) to prevent exposure of risk to the public.
The activity undertaken certainly did result in risk (evidenced by the fact that someone died).
Risk is controlled and mitigated in many ways. One way this risk could have been controlled is by the police pursuit backing off, or even not giving chase in the first place (which I would consider appropriate given this pretty minor offence - is not even like anyone got hurt, at that stage at least). They could have (and in fact did in this case) investigated with the intention of making an arrest after the fact.
If I were the family of the victim, I would be seeking legal council to take WMP to task.
Hopefully the coroner's findings will bring that up. They usually do when an NHS trust's actions (or inaction) results in an otherwise avoidable death and the police should be no different.
My thoughts are with the family and friends of Forentine. A young life taken.
“You are an absolute hazard on the road as far as other users are concerned,” the judge added.
But he then failed to give a lifetime ban. There is no reason why a multiple offender should have the priviledge of holding a driving licence.
RIP for the victim and my sympathies to his family. The driver deserves a lifetime ban.
As usual, despite a string of serious convictions, someone has to be killed first before this thug was jailed..And too short a sentence..
Blame the liberal left elites for that, he should be hung 8 billion people on the planet he's not needed by anyone ffs
I'd rather blame the asshole that steals a car and kills someone. He should be locked up for a long time.
Too bad we cant put the judge in prison for letting someone with a "string of previous convictions for burglary as well as motoring offences" and now "causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving whilst uninsured, and causing death by driving whilst unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured." off with nothing but a slap on the wrist.
Mr Talbot was definitely a very naughty naught boy. Judge put Mr Talbot on a time out on the naughty step
People like Mr Talbot should be locked up for life.
Then you will need to get the law changed not blame the judge.
9 years amounts to the max for a guilty plea allowing for a few weeks locked up without bail.
You can't argue with people like that. Something in their lives makes them not appreciate or understand how decisions are made and what the law is. They're at their happiest complaining. Sad really.
Looking at the map of the road, it appears that the victim had literally just left work as Yodel is just in the junction behind the stream.
.
Not enough.
.
Nowhere near enough.
.
Out in 4 1/2.
.
Complete joke.
.
I'm actually surprised that they went for a 14 year driving ban which is a lot higher than in a lot of these cases. It should still be a lifetime driving ban - nothing good will come from letting them drive again.
As I mentioned in the other thread, I suspect it was an extension applied because they were already banned. As the last line of the report showed, the scrote will still drive anyway, normally in vehicles that is not his own.
I certainly agree with you however in cases like these I think the driving ban is almost irrelevant. It certainly won't stop him driving in the future, sounds like he was unlicensed anyway.
In theory (is it even that much) the next time they're found driving that would give the opportunity to apply some kind of sanction there and then rather than waiting for (months - years) for courts.
What kind of sanction would not cost the public as much as keeping them locked them up (which isn't possible anyway) but be effective in this case is an open question.
The theory is that if they get caught driving whilst banned, then it's straight to jail, do not pass Go. Being put in jail will certainly make it harder for him to drive for a while.
As if the ban will stop him driving. Needed a more robust form of punishment, losing a limb or something
I usually advocate the permanent loss of taste buds and application of whatever the opposite of viagra is for life.
Chemical castration perhaps?
Bit late for that, the stupid local paper mention he is already a grandfather at 38.
Would that kill sex-drive or just prevent future conceptions?
The aim for my suggestion is the former (alongside removal of taste buds) so it no longer experiences those pleasures.
I think many people might think twice if faced with those consequences.
It could be temporary (say 3 months) for a first serious offence, 6 months for the 2nd and then permanent for the 3rd.
So what happens if they do it a fourth time?
Heard a story many years ago in Belfast (I think) where police stopped someone who was driving in a strange manner. Turned out to be a (young-ish) joyrider and part of the reason for the odd driving was they had sometime previously had their elbows / knees broken or shot. The "men of the community" had judged their car stealing antisocial (probably nicked the wrong guy's car). However apparently the going rate was a limb per time for the offense (after a warning) so they'd obviously not been deterred even by that...
One you get beyond a couple of years, I believe that the extra time becomes less meaningful as a punishment. 41/2 years is more than enough to completely mess up your life. When they are out, they are on parol so if they get caught driving in that time it should be straight back inside.
With that record you would hope the most trivial repeat infraction after release would be taken into account, but I fear that the pressure from Government would be to avoid prison again because of budget and I believe the parol supervision system is broken too. Which is a problem because having messed up someone's life with prison, it is going to be hard work getting someone back on the straight and narrow - especially with everyone else around them swanning around in their fast cars with their right to drive attitudes.