The parents of a little girl struck down by a drink and drug driver shared their grief as their daughter's killer was put behind bars. John Owen was speeding and had been using a mobile phone when his car crashed into Sharlotte-Sky Naglis.
The six-year-old schoolgirl had been walking back home from the shops in Norton Green, Stoke-on-Trent, with her dad Kris when Owen mounted the pavement and ploughed into them. Sharlotte died instantly.
As reported by Stoke-on-TrentLive, Owen was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle, sustaining a brain injury. The 46-year-old appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court to be sentenced after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.
The court heard Owen, of The Square in Oakamoor, North Staffordshire, had been drinking throughout the day of the accident on June 19, last year. Prosecutor Philip Vollans said there was evidence indicating he was using a mobile phone at the time, or just before.
Mr Vollans said: "He drove his Skoda at speed and approached the bend at a dangerous speed. The impact speed was 48mph.
"As a consequence of the levels of intoxication through drink and drugs it had a substantial effect on his ability to control the vehicle." Owen said he had no recollection because of the brain injury.
Sharlotte's devastated mum, Claire Reynolds, read a heartbreaking statement to the court at the hearing in which she shared her pain and grief. "It’s impossible to truly describe how one person’s actions have affected the rest of mine and the children’s lives. We’ve lost more than anybody can even begin to imagine," she said.
"Nothing will never be the same; getting excited, looking forward to family times, feeling complete, feeling no pain, waking up with a smile. These things have all gone.
"All I had with Sharlotte was six wonderful years. No parent should ever lose their child, especially when their child is taken away so cruelly, at such a young age and with so many dreams and so much life ahead of her."
She said Sharlotte had missed her friends and going to school during the Covid-19 pandemic and they had made lots of plans for when the virus went. "But she will never be able to do any of them," she said.
Ms Reynolds, 37, described her daughter as "loving, caring, brave, thoughtful, clever and full of energy. She said: "She had just started swimming lessons, and every time she swam to the end of the pool, she’d give me thumbs up with a massive grin because she made it across.
"One time she smiled at me and made her fingers into a love heart for me. I love her so much and miss everything about her."
A statement from Mr Naglis, Sharlotte's dad, was read to the court. He described Sharlotte as his 'beautiful angel'.
He said his life has become hell with nothing left to fight for. "Nothing can bring happiness. I wake up crying and have panic attacks," he said..
"The question is why this happened and why would someone drive so fast with so many kids around? Was he so careless that he was thinking just about himself and nobody else? I do not understand."
The court also heard from Sarah Sheldon, mum of Sharlotte's best friend William. She described the impact Sharlotte's deat had had on her little boy.
She said: "He didn’t understand that Sharlotte was never coming back. He knew what death meant because he had lost several grandparents but he didn’t realise that children could die. He thought only elderly or ill people died, and Sharlotte was neither."
She said: "My son and Sharlotte's young friends have had to face up to issues no five and six-year-olds should have to deal with", adding: "We will feel the grief and sadness for the rest of our lives."
Angela Reynolds, Sharlotte's 'nanny', said: "My life has changed forever since Sharlotte was taken away from me. My heart is split in two. There is not a day I do not cry."
Mr Vollans said the offending was in the highest category of the sentencing guidelines, with a starting point of eight years and a range of seven to 14 years. Simon Blakebrough, mitigating, said Owen lost control of the car on a bend and the harm caused "could not have been any higher".
He said the phone was on, but the evidence suggests Owen received a call. Mr Blakebrough conceded Owen has a previous conviction for drink-driving in 1998 but he said the age of the conviction meant it should not be treated as an aggravated feature.
He added Owen suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for several weeks. The defence barrister said Owen had not been able to work since the crash, and had stopped drinking for good.
He had been described as a "good father to his two daughters", said Mr Blakebrough, and as having "a heart of gold". He added: "He has to live with the consequences of this for the rest of his life. He is deeply ashamed of his actions and through me he wants to apologise to the wider audience for what he has done."
Addressing Owen, Judge Paul Glenn said: "You killed an innocent six-year-old child by driving at excessive speed, 48mph in a 30mph limit shortly before the collision. You lost control of your car while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. In each case, close to double the prescribed limit.
"Sharlotte had been to the shop with her dad, walking properly on the pavement when you mounted the kerb and struck her. Death, mercifully, would have been instantaneous. Her father was also struck."
The court heard Owen had driven from Leek and was heading for Newcastle. Judge Glenn said Owen was "an accident waiting to happen".
"You chose to drive when you must have known you had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and a class A drug, cocaine. Both substances at almost double the legal limit," he told Owen.
Offering condolences to Sharlotte's family, the judge said: "The sense of loss could not possibly be overstated and no sentence the court can impose will even begin to compensate for the loss of such a wonderful child. I hope those who are present will accept my deepest sympathy and treasure their memories of the child.
Judge Glenn jailed Owen for six years and two months. He banned him from driving for five years and until he passes an extended test. The ban will be extended by three years and one month to account for the time Owen will spend in jail.
