Sister of guitarist killed in crash when company director was distracted trying to turn on her heated steering wheel slams ‘too lenient’ sentence after Volvo SUV driver avoided jail
The sister of a guitarist who was killed after a driver became distracted while trying to turn on the heated steering wheel of her brand new luxury electric SUV has branded her suspended sentence as ‘too lenient’.
Lynn Worgan, 66, a company director, crashed into Christopher Allen’s Audi TT when she took her eyes off the road for up to five seconds as she repeatedly tapped the buttons to activate the device, just meters from her £900,000 home , in rural Cheshire.
Her £50,000 Volvo XC40 Ultimate ended up on the wrong side of the country road and into the path of rock musician Christopher Allen’s sports car. The 47-year-old guitarist tried to take evasive action, but was unable to avoid a collision.
The victim’s sister, Lesley Everall, said she will never recover from Christopher’s death.
The 44-year-old said: ‘It’s too mild for a life. That is why I wrote a second personal victim statement.
Lesley Everall pictured with brother Christopher Allen. He was killed after a driver became distracted while trying to turn on the heated steering wheel of her brand new luxury electric SUV. Ms Everall has branded the driver’s suspended sentence as ‘too lenient’.
Lynn Worgan imagined herself leaving the court in Chester. The company director crashed into Mr Allen’s Audi TT when she took her eyes off the road for up to five seconds as she repeatedly tapped the buttons to activate the device, just yards from her £900,000 rural home of Cheshire.
The 47-year-old guitarist (photo) tried to take evasive action, but was unable to avoid a collision
‘It was a waste of your life if you tampered with a steering wheel. The worst thing that eats me up is that all this time she never looked up and didn’t see him. Five seconds in a car is a long time.
“She didn’t know what was going on until her airbags went off.
‘It could have been anyone, but it was my brother who just went to work.
“The same route he had traveled for the past eight years.
‘I also think that if it had been a 20-year-old who had killed my brother, things would have been different.
“They would have gotten jail time, but they made an issue about her age, which annoyed me.”
She added: “It’s devastating and something I will never get over.
‘I don’t think I would be happy with any punishment imposed on her.
‘There will never be justice.
‘I thought about appealing the sentence, but we’ve been through so much that I decided not to.
‘The CPS lawyers were not happy with this and felt it should have gone to the Crown Court.
‘When the conviction remained in court, I felt she would not receive a prison sentence.
‘I would have liked her to apologize in court after I poured my heart out.
The victim’s sister, Lesley Everall, said: ‘It could have been anyone but it was my brother who had just gone to work. ‘The same route he had traveled for the past eight years’
She added: “It’s devastating and something I will never get over.”
Mr. Allen pictured on his motorcycle
His sister added: “I thought about appealing the sentence, but we’ve been through so much that I decided not to.”
At Chester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Worden, from Poole, was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work (Picture: Mr Allen)
‘When I later asked if she had apologised, I was told she had written a letter to the judge saying how apologetic she was, but I felt it would be better for her to come to court.
“If her lawyer had said sorry on her behalf, that would have been something.”
At Chester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Worden, from Poole, was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay £239 in costs and victim surcharge and was banned from driving for two years.
