Drunk driver is jailed over bus stop horror

A great-great grandfather was killed by a drunk driver as he tried valiantly to save his beloved wife at a bus stop in Staffordshire, a court heard.

Jack Edwards, aged 83, of Bentley Lane, Birchills, Walsall, was mowed down close to Lichfield's memorial gardens.

The driver, Stephanie Clitheroe, was three to four times over the drink drive limit, and so drunk that she drove straight through Beacon Park. Mr Edwards had just enough time to push his wife of 61 years, Elsie, out of the way.

But his actions put him in the path of Clitheroe's out of control black Fiesta.

Clitheroe, 54, of Walnut Walk, Lichfield, was jailed for five years and four months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. Judge Mark Eades told her: "You were so drunk you were completely disorientated and trying to find your way out of the park."

Stafford Crown Court heard Mr and Mrs Edwards were enjoying a shopping trip and picnic in Lichfield.

They were waiting by the Beacon Street gardens to catch a bus home on May 28 when Clitheroe's Fiesta ploughed toward them.

Mr Malcolm Morse, prosecuting, said Clitheroe had driven through Beacon Park on a path normally blocked off to traffic. A groundsman tried to stop her, but Clitheroe was slumped over the steering wheel.

Walkers in the park had to dodge her car as it accelerated, smashing through a barrier and crashing through the park's gates into the road. Witnesses said the car was airborne.

Mr Morse said: "In its path were Mr Edwards and his wife. He just had time to recognise the danger and to push his wife out of the way — an event that landed him directly in its path."

After being arrested, Clitheroe failed to provide breath specimens, claiming she had a hernia and lay down in the police car. She tried to kick through a window before falling to sleep.

From a sample of her blood taken seven hours after the accident, it was estimated she had a blood-alcohol level of 270mg, more than three times the legal limit, at the time of impact.

The court heard that the Edwards' had been childhood sweethearts before marrying in 1949.

Mr Richard Dewsbery, defending, said Clitheroe's actions were "quite bizarre".