An epilepsy sufferer who was repeatedly warned not to drive has been jailed for four years for killing a biker in a crash.
Ponnampalam Manisegaran, 46, slammed into two cars and into the back of Stewart Sahu’s Kawasaki motorcycle after suffering a fit behind the wheel of his BMW.
Mr Sahu, 42, was catapulted into the air and travelled some 29 metres following the collision on the A12 at the junction to Ley Road in Ilford, Essex, on November 3, 2016.
Prosecutor Daniel Fugallo said Manisegaran had been admitted to hospital in July 2010 after suffering seizures.
He said ward notes indicated that he was told he ‘should not drive’ and a month later, he was formally diagnosed with epilepsy.
An epilepsy sufferer who was repeatedly warned not to drive has been jailed for four years for killing a biker in a crash. Stock photo
But at no point did the defendant inform the DVLA of his medical condition ‘despite the repeated warnings’ of professionals not to be on the roads, the prosecutor added.
On the day of the crash, Manisegaran was on his way home after dropping his 11-year-old son at a bus stop at 7.20am.
He smashed into two cars and Mr Sahu’s Kawasaki at about 46mph as the vehicles waited at a red light.
The driver suffered ‘minor injuries’ while the victim was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital.
Mr Sahu, a married father-of-two was pronounced dead at 9.37am.
After he was arrested at the scene, Manisegaran told police that he ‘often blacked out’ and said he had suffered his ‘last seizure’ a few weeks before.
He made no comment in interviews.
But Manisegaran, of Ash Close, Romford, Essex, admitted causing death by dangerous driving at the Old Bailey.
Mr Sahu, 42, was catapulted into the air following the collision on the A12 at the junction to Ley Road (file photo) in Ilford, Essex, on November 3, 2016
Michel Massih QC, defending, said Manisegaran, had been taking medication but the dosage had been lowered.
‘Perhaps this is the most moving case I have ever dealt with,’ he said.
‘Anyone reading that impact statement can see the agony and pain of the family, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He added: ‘This is a case, with the greatest respect, we submit may well have been triggered by the tragic attempted suicide of his wife barely two weeks before.’
The barrister said he was a man ‘filled with complete remorse.’
‘We have two families who are suffering in ways that we cannot describe,’ he said.
Judge Sarah Munro QC said: ‘Stewart Sahu was only 42 years old, he was an adored son to an elderly mother who had already lost her other child.
‘He was a loving husband and a devoted father to his two children aged 11 and six.
‘He was loved by his family and worked hard to provide for them – he was the light of their lives.
‘I have read with care and re-read the statements made by loved ones and they make for heartbreaking reading.
‘Their lives have been turned upside down – those little boys have had to have therapy, they have had to cry over the loss of their father at a very young age.’
The judge said she noted the family’s impact statement suggested that they ‘do not want another’ family’s life destroyed.
But she said she suspected nothing she says or does will feel like justice to anyone.
Ponnampalam Manisegaran was jailed for four years after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving
‘There are no winners in this court room, there are only losers,’ she said.
The judge told Manisegaran that with his medical condition, he ‘ought to have known the risk’ he presented.
She jailed him for four years and disqualified him from driving for a further 10.
He will be subjected to an extended driving test before he could ever get behind the wheel again.
An emotional impact statement by the victim’s grieving wife was read out in court by her sister-in-law.
She said Mr Sahu had an amazing sense of humour and was always generous to others.
‘Most of all he was selfless,’ she said.
‘He was my guy, my marital companion and most of all he was the love of my life. I had so admired him.’
She said since his death she has felt traumatised, adding: ‘I lost so much on that tragic day.’
The widow said both of her sons have since been in therapy.
‘They are now painfully aware of human mortality and I have to constantly reassure them.’
Describing their family’s ‘immeasurable’ and ‘crippling pain’, she added: ‘We as a family feel an overwhelming sense of injustice.’
She said Manisegaran had not shown ‘any acknowledgement’ of the damage he caused.
‘He has shown complete disdain for our family by saying no comment in interviews.’