Grandmother killed by driver treating busy road near Merry Hill as 'race track'

James Mills, aged 23, had been racing another car on the busy Pedmore Road, near Merry Hill, moving from side to side as if to force it over and undertaking other vehicles.

One motorist described his black Ford Focus, which had been modified to make it more powerful, as hurtling past him 'like a rocket'.

Victim Vijaya Mistry, a 74-year-old grandmother, who had been sitting next to her husband in their Mondeo on February 3 as he waited to turn right into The Gateway, was thrown through the passenger window by the impact. She died of her injuries later in hospital.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Mills had been travelling at up to 80mph - twice the speed limit - as he competed with a white Citreon.

Ms Cathlyn Orchard, prosecuting, said the main cause of the collision was the high speed of the Focus. Witness Brian Moore saw both cars 'wheel-spin off' from traffic lights at the junction with Level Street. Earlier both drivers talked to each other through their windows as they lined up, engines revving.

Mr Moore's wife commented of the Focus driver: 'He's got a death wish', the court heard.

Ms Orchard said: "Mr Moore saw the Ford Focus moving erratically from side to side as if to force over the other vehicle. Going uphill, he could see the Mondeo turning right and said the Ford made no attempt to to brake and went straight into it."

Police officers who investigated the accident said Mills' car had covered 450 metres in just 15 seconds from a standing start. As it passed the BP station it was doing 73mph.

Mills, who tested negative for drink and drugs, owned up to his bad driving immediately and expressed genuine remorse and concern for his victims, the court heard.

Defending him, Ms Heidi Kubik said: "This is a young man of whom people speak highly, who had the courage to make admissions at the scene. It is a sad feature of the case that the victim was ejected from the car because she wasn't wearing a seat belt."

In a statement, the victim's family said Mr Mistry had been left devastated and still struggling to walk following the crash but the family had been helped by Mills' frank confession and held no ill will against him.

Mills, of School Road, Quarry Bank, Brierley Hill, admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He sobbed as he was jailed for five years and four months and banned from driving for seven years on his release.

Judge Nicholas Webb told him he had shown 'flagrant disregard' for the rules of the road.

Afterwards Pc Mark Crozier, of the collision investigation team, said: "Mr Mills admitted his intention to use the road as a race track, having no thought for the devastation he could and ultimately did cause."