Driver who fled to Yorkshire after hitting 89-year-old man and carrying him on car roof jailed

A speeding driver who hit an 89-year-old great grandfather crossing the road, continued driving with him on the roof of the car and then abandoned his body, has been jailed for nearly 10 years.

Albert Matraxhiu, 29, of Edgware, north London, was sentenced to nine years and 10 months at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday for causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

He had hit retired dental surgeon Thomas Wallace at an estimated 76.5mph, while driving a grey Mercedes estate car on the A289 Gads Hill in Gillingham, Kent, just after 12pm on December 29 last year.

The court heard witnesses saw Mr Wallace thrown in the air and land on the roof of the car, where he remained for the next mile or so as the car carried on.

His body was dislodged from the car as it turned down a side lane, and was found by a postman on Grange Road.

Matraxhiu, with his friend Erald Paci in the front passenger seat throughout, then drove to a rural location to abandon the car.

The men, both Albanian nationals, removed the number plates from the car, which Matraxhiu was driving without insurance or a licence, and got rid of their clothes and mobile phones.

Paci, 30, of Five Ways Court, Chatham, Kent, was jailed for 15 months for perverting the course of justice at the same hearing.

He was released from custody after the sentencing hearing because of his time already spent on remand.

Matraxhiu had fled to an address in Sheffield, and Paci contacted police less than 12 hours after the crash, after a media appeal.

He was interviewed by police within 24 hours and showed police their route and where the number plates were abandoned.

Both men pleaded guilty earlier this year.

In mitigation for Matraxhiu, Judge Julian Smith accepted he showed genuine remorse.

But sentencing him, he said: “The fact he drove on with Mr Wallace on the roof of the car before abandoning his body and the car aggravates this offending.”

Judge Smith added that family statements heard in court about Mr Wallace painted an “extraordinary picture of a full life”.

“He grasped life and found the joy in it and clearly took people with him. His legacy is his family,” he said.

During the sentencing, Mr Wallace’s wife of 64 years, Angela Wallace, said in a statement read in court that it was “impossible to believe he is not coming back”.

She said illegally killing a pedestrian was one thing but driving with Mr Wallace around on the roof of the car and leaving him was “cowardly and cruel”, adding: “It is completely unforgivable.”

“Tom was a good man, he worked as a dental surgeon all his life, he would do anything for anybody.

“He did not deserve this end.”

In other victim impact statements read in court, Mr Wallace’s son James Wallace said he had “deep disgust” of the defendants for their “failure to stop and help my father”.

Mr Wallace’s daughter, Juliet Roma, said it was as though her father was treated as “roadkill”.

“My dad dumped like he was no-one, to us he was everything,” she said.

The youngest son of Mr Wallace, Peter Wallace, said in his statement that at Christmas his father fought back to health after a stroke and he watched him enjoy a busy life.

“We experienced fear of the unknown, my dad being hurt by someone out of sight out of reach, I’ve experienced no terror like it.”

He said a “powerful sense of unfairness continues to be hard to shake”.

Kent Police detective inspector Zoe Wilczek said Matraxhiu’s “dangerous and amoral actions” shocked the local community.

“His deliberate and calculated attempts to evade capture and avoid facing the consequences of his actions are evidence of his poor substance of character, and we are satisfied he is facing a long time behind bars,” she said.

“Mr Wallace was much-loved and deeply respected by his family and the community, and we hope today’s sentence brings a sense of justice to all that knew him.”