A JEALOUS driver who killed a teenage moped rider as he tried to track down his cheating wife on a mobile phone app has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Kenneth Wallace struck 17-year-old Calum Dowers as he used his phone to follow the signal from a tracking device he had planted on his wife’s car, a court heard.
The 53-year-old PR consultant had also been sending text messages and searching Google before his E-Class Mercedes-Benz struck moped rider in Lincolnshire, a court was told.
Wallace, who believed his wife was meeting a man at a pub in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, was racing at 90mph to find her, having had two glasses of wine before setting off.
Witnesses reported that he sped off after the collision, which left the teen in the middle of the road where he was fatally struck by an articulated lorry, Lincoln Crown Court heard.
None of the blame for the youngster’s death was attributed to the lorry driver, police have confirmed.
But, the court heard that a police investigator believed if Wallace had stopped and helped Calum, who had planned to join the RAF, he may not have died.
Wallace later claimed not to have been aware of the impact despite significant damage to his wing mirror, which was found at the scene, and a warning light going off, prosecutor Alex Wolfson said.
When police in Northamptonshire arrested Wallace the following morning he was significantly over the drink drive limit, Mr Wolfson added.
Calum’s mother, Kerry Dowers, said he was a “great son” who wanted to be an RAF medic.
She added: “We all miss him terribly. His death will haunt us for the rest our lives.
“Wallace did not just destroy Callum that night, he destroyed all our lives.”
Liam Muir, mitigating, said Wallace was a functioning alcoholic.
Mr Muir told the court: “He was married for 18 years but they are now separated. He is a man who was plagued by alcohol abuse.”
Wallace od Stamford, Linconshire, admitted causing death by dangerous driving in September last year.
He was also been banned from driving for nine years and three months and must take an extended driving test.
