A 13-year-old boy has been given a two-year custody sentence for causing the death of his foster mother by running her over with her own car. Sheffield Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was attempting to take the car, parked outside of the family home in the Greenhill area of the city on the evening of 5 April. When Marcia Grant, 60, intervened, the car hit her and caused her to fall down and hit her head. Trapped under the vehicle, she was pronounced dead shortly after. The defendant pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and possession of a knife earlier this year.
Mrs Justice Juliet May informed the youth that it was “the last resort” to sentence a child to custody, although causing a death was a serious offence. The offender, who was 12 at the time, was a foster child in the care of Mrs Grant when the incident happened. He denied a murder charge but confessed to causing Mrs Grant’s death by dangerous driving, which the prosecution accepted. The court heard how Mrs Grant’s husband tried to break into the car to free the youth as she was trapped under it, but the vehicle reversed swiftly, resulting in life-changing injuries.
There was an outpouring of grief during the hearing, with the victim’s loved ones reading emotional statements to the court. Shaun Grant, the victim’s son, described his mother as his “best friend ripped away” without the chance to say goodbye. Her daughter, Gemma Grant, called her a “rock” and pleaded with Judge May “to ensure justice is done in her mum’s name.” Nonetheless, Mrs Justice Juliet May emphasised that the prosecution had “accepted that you did not mean to harm Mrs Grant.” The defendant was also disqualified from driving for six years.
Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell of South Yorkshire Police expressed condolences to the Grant family outside of the courtroom. She said they had lost a “pillar of her community” and that criminal justice was just one step in a long path towards healing following the family’s loss
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