Family of hit-and-run victim, 20, mown down by 'drunkest driver police had ever ... trends now
The family of a young woman mown down by 'the drunkest driver a police officer had ever seen' are launching a bid to have her hit and run killer's 'lenient' eight-year jail sentence increased.
Nature-loving Fenella Hawes, 20, was carrying sunflowers to give to her mother Margaret when a car driven by Malcolm Waite mounted a pavement and hit her.
The student was declared dead at the scene, despite desperate efforts to save her after the collision in Stalham, Norfolk on July 31 this year.
Fenella Hawes, 20, (pictured right) was killed when drunken Malcolm Waite mounted the pavement with his car. Her family are now appealing for his sentence of eight years to be increased
Retired computer engineer Waite, 68, was jailed for eight years, despite being described by the arresting officer as 'the drunkest person I have ever seen behind the wheel of a car.'
Waite was nearly five times over the drink drive limit and had a bottle of vodka in the car with him when he came to a halt having crashed into a tree, more than a mile down the road.
Now Fenella's family are pushing the Attorney General for Waite's sentence to be increased as they do not believe it reflects the full severity of his crime.
Her elder sister Rosie, a 27-year-old dental nurse, told MailOnline: 'Waite did plead guilty and received credit for that when it came to sentencing, but we still don't think the sentence took into account all the factors.'
Offenders receive a reduction in sentence of up to one third in return for pleading guilty.
Retired computer engineer Waite, 68, was jailed for eight years, despite being described by the arresting officer as 'the drunkest person I have ever seen behind the wheel of a car.' Pictured: Police bodycam footage of Waite as he was arrested
The law was changed the month before Fenella's death, increasing the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years' imprisonment to life.
Mother-of-two Rosie added: 'We as a family were shocked by the sentence, especially after the law was changed.
'Bearing in mind how much alcohol was in his system, the fact he didn't stop and the loss to our family, we think it should have been more.
'We're a very close-knit family and she was the light of all our lives, and now she's been taken away from us.'
A Change.org petition has so far attracted nearly 4,000 signatures.
'We want to reach as many people as possible and share my sisters' story, in the hope this increases his sentence and deters other people from drink driving,' said Rosie.
Fenella and Rosie's mother Margaret gave the court a moving victim impact statement when Waite was sentenced, saying she 'sobs every day' at the loss of her daughter, a promising student who had been taking Natural Sciences at Lancaster University and was set to go to Honduras on a trip she had been awarded a bursary for.
Police officers arresting Waite (pictured) said: 'He was the drunkest driver I've ever seen'
'I sob because she was so happy: she was so lovely inside and out, she was so alive and now she isn't here, and never will be again. I never had a chance to say goodbye,' Mrs Hawes said in a victim impact statement.
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