Court told of death crash

A man caused the death of his friend while driving without insurance after his car struck a dead deer in the road and his vehicle veered out of control, the court heard.

Portuguese factory worker, Luis Silveira, 23, was driving home in a BMW from a shift at Wessex Foods in Lowestoft with his friend Artur Do Rosario as a front seat passenger when he hit the deer which was lying in the carriageway on the A11 at Besthorpe, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Malcolm Robins, prosecuting said it sent the car out of control he said the car veered across the carriageway, hit an embankment and then rolled end to end before coming to rest on its roof.

He said Mr Do Rosario, 29, from Besthorpe was flung from the car and despite getting first aid treatment at the scene he later died from his injuries. It is believed he was not wearing his seat belt.

Silveira from London Road, Attleborough admitted causing the death of his friend on September 12, last year by driving while uninsured.

The court heard that Silveira had a previous conviction at magistrates court for driving without a licence.

Mr Robins said that an accident investigation showed that the crash had not been caused by any bad driving on the part of Silveira who had been travelling within the 70mph speed limit. However, he said it was discovered that he had a fraudulent Portuguese licence and was uninsured for the vehicle which was owned by a friend.

In an impact statement the partner of Mr Do Rosario described him as a kind, caring man who would be sadly missed but said she did not want to see Silveira harshly punished for an accident that was not caused by him.

Judge Paul Downes imposed a 12-week sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered him to do 150 hours unpaid work.

He also imposed a 12 month driving ban.

He said: 'This was a very tragic accident and Mr Do Rosario has lost his life as a result.' However, he added: 'It was not your driving that caused the accident.'

Michael Clare, mitigating said that Do Rosario was a friend of the defendant and they had both been trying to make a living in a foreign country.

'The defendant appreciates the seriousness of what has happened, a young man has lost his life. Nothing he did in relation to driving without insurance caused that death.'

He said the accident investigation showed he was driving within the speed limit and said: 'It may be the deceased was not wearing his seat belt which is of some significance.'

He added: 'He is deeply remorseful for the loss of his friend.'