A FAMILY man is dead and the young man responsible is behind bars because he failed to carry out a simple health check.
Diabetic Michael Dodd, 21, of Saddlery Way, Chester, flouted DVLA rules by not checking his blood-sugar level before driving his Ford Transit.
Dodd, jailed for three years at Chester Crown Court, slipped into unconsciousness after suffering a hypoglycaemic attack and ploughed into a Citroen C-Crosser driven by James Pope, 41, of Wallasey, on Wrexham Road in November 2009.
Dodd, a man of no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to causing death by driving without due care but this was not accepted by the Crown. He was found guilty of the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving after a trial.
A statement released by his solicitor Guy Dodd, who is not related, read: “Michael Dodd is desperately sorry for this tragic incident and wishes to express his deepest sympathy to Mr Pope’s family.
“Not a day goes by without him thinking about this tragedy and wishing he had tested on this occasion. He will have to live with the consequences of his omission for the rest of his life.”
Judge David Hale said such cases were among the “most difficult” to sentence because he had to balance the culpability of the defendant, a hard-working, pleasant young man, with the feelings of the relatives of Mr Pope, a successful and much-loved family man.
Mr Pope is survived by his wife Mel and son James, 13, from his first marriage. They were due to adopt a child. He had his own training business, Pope Sales Management Solutions, more widely known as ‘The Training Expert’.
Mr Pope’s widow, Mel, said after the hearing: “No matter what the sentence was today, no-one has won and it will not bring James, my husband, back. It was a tough call as nothing will justify a life. I’ve taken no pleasure in knowing that Michael Dodd will spend the next 18 months in prison.”
A family tribute to Mr Pope read: “James was extremely dynamic, with a personality and charm that everyone adored. He was the life and soul of everything in which he was involved.
“He had the spirit to touch all who he met and make him become whatever he chose to be, which was a giant of a man.”
Judge Hale accepted the defendant, who worked with his father in the family roofing business, was remorseful and there was no suggestion he had experienced any warning symptoms before the accident.
Dodd will serve half his sentence. He was disqualified from driving for five years. He must take an extended driving test should he wish to drive on release.
