And a number of motorists involved in fatal collisions have been jailed this year too.
One sentencing which took place only a few weeks ago, on May 24, dealt with a fatal collision which happened in October 2021.
South Yorkshire Police ‘dealt with’ over 200 people in April as part of the national Fatal4 campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the four main attributing factors to fatal and serious collisions: speeding, mobile phone use, seatbelts and driving while under the influence of drink and drugs.
Roads Policing Inspector Matt Collings said: “People think it won’t happen to them, but road traffic collisions can happen to anyone, any age.
“We have heard every excuse and reason possible to why people decide to risk it, but it’s not worth it. You could kill or seriously injure someone and face a lengthy prison sentence.”
Set out below are seven killer drivers in South Yorkshire and the circumstances which led to tragedy.
1. Brandon Varley
A beloved dad-of-three was killed in a horror crash caused by a teen driver who, while attempting to escape police, ignored a give way sign and collided with another vehicle. Brandon Varley’s front seat passenger and friend, Tze Chun Tsang, aged 51, was killed in the collision. Sheffield Crown Court heard how after causing the two-vehicle crash Varley, then aged 18, fled the scene. In emotional statements read to the court during a hearing on March 4, 2024, Mr Tsang’s loved ones detailed the devastating impact his loss continues to have on his family. Despite never holding a full driving licence, Varley was disqualified from driving just two days before the fatal collision on Brierley Road, Grimethorpe, Barnsley. Defending, John Bottomley told the court that despite Varley, now aged 21, handing himself into police a month after the collision, he was not charged until June 28, 2023 - over two years later. Mr Bottomley asked Judge Wright to take into consideration Varley’s young age at the time of the collision, as well as the ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis he has received from doctors since. "The doctor comments that from a young age he has never known his father and he’s had no male role model," he said. "The probation report says he’s sought male role models which has contributed to further offending," Mr Bottomley added. Judge Sarah Wright jailed Varley for seven years, and told him he must spend at least two-thirds of his sentence behind bars | SYP
![Brandon South is estimated to have been travelling at speeds of 74 miles per hour before he mounted a grass verge and pavement on Haugh Road in Rawmarsh, Rotherham - which is subject to a 40mph limit - and hit pedestrian Robert Chessman, causing fatal injuries.
In a statement from 'close family' of Mr Chessman, who was just 43 when he died, they said he was 'an important person in many people’s lives'.
Describing the circumstances of the crash, which took place at around 1.25pm on January 7, 2022, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said: "He dangerously executes a fast overtaking manoeuvre of [...] two cars. Coming round the corner - as one might expect in the middle of the day - is another car. The defendant tucks in, because of this dangerous manoeuvre, overcompensates and effectively loses control of the car and mounts a grass verge and pavement, near to a junction - from which a pedestrian is coming - and sadly kills him."
Following the incident, police recovered two videos from South, then aged 21, which he had posted to social media on the same day.
Witnesses observed South, of Middle Avenue, Rawmarsh, 'throwing his phone into a bush' after the crash.
Members of the public came to Mr Chessman’s aid, calling the emergency services and attempting CPR, but he sadly could not be saved.
South pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to seven years and six months behind bars. He was also made the subject of a five-year driving ban, with a three year, nine month extension to reflect the amount of time he is likely to serve in prison, bringing the total length of the ban to eight years, nine months.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/06/17/11/41/Untitled%20design%20%2866%29.png?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
2. Brandon South
Brandon South is estimated to have been travelling at speeds of 74 miles per hour before he mounted a grass verge and pavement on Haugh Road in Rawmarsh, Rotherham - which is subject to a 40mph limit - and hit pedestrian Robert Chessman, causing fatal injuries. In a statement from 'close family' of Mr Chessman, who was just 43 when he died, they said he was 'an important person in many people’s lives'. Describing the circumstances of the crash, which took place at around 1.25pm on January 7, 2022, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said: "He dangerously executes a fast overtaking manoeuvre of [...] two cars. Coming round the corner - as one might expect in the middle of the day - is another car. The defendant tucks in, because of this dangerous manoeuvre, overcompensates and effectively loses control of the car and mounts a grass verge and pavement, near to a junction - from which a pedestrian is coming - and sadly kills him." Following the incident, police recovered two videos from South, then aged 21, which he had posted to social media on the same day. Witnesses observed South, of Middle Avenue, Rawmarsh, 'throwing his phone into a bush' after the crash. Members of the public came to Mr Chessman’s aid, calling the emergency services and attempting CPR, but he sadly could not be saved. South pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to seven years and six months behind bars. He was also made the subject of a five-year driving ban, with a three year, nine month extension to reflect the amount of time he is likely to serve in prison, bringing the total length of the ban to eight years, nine months. | SYP
3. Molly Mycroft
A beloved young woman, Sarah Oliver, was just six days away from her 21st birthday when she was killed by a ‘deplorable’ driver who reached speeds of 78mph and drove through a red light. At the time of the crash, at around 9.20pm on August 2, 2022, Sarah was being taken to work at Polypipe on Neale Road in Doncaster by her colleague, Pedro Ribeiro. The court heard how Mr Ribeiro had been waiting at a set of traffic lights, and after they turned green, he made a lawful right-turn on to Wheatley Hall Road; without warning, the passenger-side of his vehicle was struck by Mycroft’s red Seat Ibiza car. The lights on Wheatley Hall Road, near to the junction of Neale Road, had been red for around six seconds when Mycroft drove through them at a speed of between 78 and 83 mph - in a 40mph speed limit zone. At the sentencing hearing on February 23, 2024, Sarah’s mum, Ann-Marie Stone said: “We should have been planning her 21st birthday, but instead we were planning her funeral.” Sarah is believed to have been killed instantly, while Mycroft's two victims - her passenger friend and Pedro Ribeiro - both suffered significant injuries, and continued to receive treatment for them over 18 months later. Mycroft was charged with and pleaded guilty to: one count of causing death by dangerous driving, and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Standing in the dock, Mycroft tearfully read out a letter of apology, and said she wished she had been the one to lose her life in the crash. Judge Richardson made Mycroft the subject of a 16-year driving ban, after which time she will be required to take an extended test. She was jailed for nine years. | SYP
4. Muhammed Umar (photo shows victim, Rita Alexandra Bento Magni)
Rita Alexandra Bento Magni, 30, was waiting for one of her two children at a bus stop on October 4, 2021, when she was killed in a crash involving her brother in law, Muhammed Umar. Muhammed Umar, 36, of Calvert Road - was spared prison after the court heard how not only was Rita his sister-in-law, but he has been helping to raise her grieving children ever since. Rita was waiting for one of her two children at a bus stop on Phillimore Road, Darnall, at 2.45pm. At the same time, Muhammed Umar was driving west on Fitzmaurice Road when he failed to stop to give way at the crossroads. A Renault Clio was travelling up Chapelwood Road, and was “slightly” over the speed limit and had no insurance. As Umar "carelessly" crossed the give way, he clipped the oncoming Renault and sent it veering away. The Clio’s wheels left the road as it span away and crashed into the bus stop where Rita was waiting. She suffered catastrophic injuries. Despite the arrival of an air ambulance and the best efforts of paramedics, she was pronounced dead at the scene. Umar’s own wife and child were in his car at the time of the crash. At Sheffield Crown Court on May 24, 2024, Rita's grieving husband, Muhammad Imran, came to the defence of Umar and asked the judge for mercy. In a victim impact statement, he told the judge Umar was “a dedicated family man” who accepted his actions, who had been helping raise his and Rita's two young children, then aged seven and three. Muhammed Umar was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years, and banned from driving for three years. | Submit