A dying father’s final wish for his son’s killer to be spared jail, has been granted after he said:
“We all make mistakes”.
Ray
Pentney died just hours before road worker Anthony Smith, 48, was due
in court on Tuesday, charged with causing the death of Dale Pentney, 20,
in an accident in January 2015.Smith, of Porthcawl, south
Wales, failed to apply the handbrake in the lorry he was operating
before it crushed his colleague Dale as they carried out barrier repair
works on the A21 in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Appearing at Sevenoaks
Magistrates’ Court this week, the 48-year-old admitted causing his death
by driving without due care and attention, but was spared jail.
The forgiving Tonbridge father Ray, 69, had waited more than a year to
discover the real circumstances surrounding his son’s death, but
maintained he did not want to see another family torn apart by the
tragedy.He died on Tuesday just before Smith was due to appear in court.
Speaking
in January, he said: “We have lost Dale. That is enough. I don’t think
prison is appropriate. If they send him to prison it is not going to
bring Dale back.
“He’s not a criminal as such, it was a fluke accident and we all make
mistakes.Smith was given a 12-week suspended sentence, and disqualified
from driving for 12 months.