Express & Star

Hit-and-run driver jailed after Mary Humpherson killed on A34 in Great Barr

A driver who hit an elderly woman and left her for dead in Great Barr has been jailed for six months.

Published
Left, Leon Grant, and right, victim Betty Humpherson, and the crash scene on the A34 looking towards the Harvester pub

Mary Humpherson, known by her loved ones as Betty, was hit as she crossed A34 Birmingham Road on October 21, 2016.

She was taken to hospital after the crash close to St Margaret's CofE Primary School but died later that day.

Leon Grant, of Reservoir Street, Walsall, was jailed this week at Birmingham Magistrates' Court .

He admitted failing to stop, failing to report a collision and driving with no licence or insurance.

West Midlands Police today said there was no evidence that he had driven carelessly or dangerously.

The 88-year-old victim was struck by a silver Ford Mondeo driven by 28-year-old Grant.

Grant abandoned the car and ran from the scene, said West Midlands Police.

Grant was arrested after handing himself four months later in the following February at a police station following a CCTV appeal.

It happened just yards from the scene of two other fatal crashes on the A34 within a few months.

Schoolgirl Zoe Shapiro was killed after being knocked over by van driver Neel Balu on February 24, 2016.

And Charlie Heywood died after being struck by a car on a stretch of the road near Pages Lane that June.

Pc Alexander Rippin, of West Midlands Police, said: “Grant received a six-month sentence behind bars this week for his involvement in Betty’s untimely death.

“I want to make it clear that each incident is looked at individually and on this occasion, the charges that we could prove and bring forward were those of failing to stop, rather than dangerous driving.

“Betty’s family have been fully supportive of our investigations over this long period of time and I hope they can now breathe a sigh of relief that this chapter is over and they can remember her as she was before this horrific incident.”

In a statement Betty’s family said: “This has been a long and difficult process and we would like to thank the police for all their support over the last 18 months.

“We would now like to focus on memories of happier family times together with our mom.”