An elderly man who lost control of his car and killed a woman in front of her husband and toddler has today, Monday, 22 December, been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving. He has also been disqualified from driving for life and his driving licence will be endorsed.
Geoffrey Lederman, 85 (9.04.29) was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court this afternoon.
Detective Sergeant Cheryl Frost, of the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This case highlights how a momentary mistake resulted in a tragic death of a mother and caused life changing injuries to another young woman. It is important for motorists to regularly monitor their driver behaviour and that of their elderly relatives to ensure that the roads are safe for all road users.
“Lederman confused the pedals of the car and instead of braking as he approached a bend too fast he accelerated into a group of pedestrians causing horrific injuries to Desreen Brooks who died at the scene.
“I would like to pay tribute to Desreen’s family as well as Amy Werner and her family for the courage they have shown during this time, prolonged by Lederman’s refusal to plead guilty and take responsibility for his actions.”
The court heard on 10 November 2012 Lederman was driving along West End Lane, NW6, having spent the day at a bridge congress with a friend.
He stopped briefly in West End Lane, thinking he had accidentally clipped a pizza delivery bike. Seeing no damage or sign of the scooter he got back in his car. Witnesses heard the engine being revved before it sped off.
Moments later, at 20:38hrs, the Mercedes mounted the pavement on the wrong side of the road at speed, ploughing towards nine pedestrians and knocking down a traffic light.
The car brushed one man and narrowly missed two others before scraping the pushchair containing Desreen’s two-year-old son. The vehicle then smashed into 33-year-old Desreen and Amy, 23. It came to a halt in a garden wall.
Desreen, of Landells Road SE22, died instantly. The family had been walking to the train station after visiting a friend.
Amy, an American student, was taken to St Mary’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Her recovery continues back home in the US but she suffered brain damage and lost the sight in one eye following the collision.
Lederman fractured his sternum and was also taken to hospital for treatment.
He later told officers he had tried to steer round a slower moving vehicle and realised he was approaching a bend in the road too fast.
He pulled on the handbrake but, unable to control the vehicle, he decided he had no choice but to crash the car and aimed for a wall.
He said he had not seen any of the nine pedestrians on the pavement.
Investigations showed he had not applied the foot brake at all during the incident, instead accelerating at full throttle. The car was travelling at an average of 54 mph when it hit Desreen.
Desreen’s husband Ben Brooks-Dutton described how he had been pushing their son’s buggy and steered it to one side when he saw the car coming. When he turned round he saw his wife on the ground, not moving.
