Barrister's son jailed for killing student, 20, in hit-and-run

27 July 2020, 18:05

The son of a barrister has been jailed for seven years after killing a university student in a hit-and-run during a police chase in south London.

Quincy Anyiam, 27, struck pedestrian Anisha Vidal-Garner in his black Mercedes on Brixton Hill, south London, on 19 February.

He had sped off from officers who had signalled for him to stop and abandoned his damaged car around a mile away as the 20-year-old lay on the road fatally injured.

Ms Vidal-Garner, from Epping, Essex, was thrown into the air like a "rag doll", the Old Bailey heard.

Her mother Mandy Garner told the court in a victim impact statement: "We simply adored her and we will miss her forever.

"Every day I wake up hoping it has not happened and have to relive that initial feeling of shock and devastation ... just seeing her face and hearing her voice made the world a better place."

She added of Ms Vidal-Garner's sisters, aged 15 and 17, and her 10-year-old brother: "Their whole world has been shattered and we have to rebuild it in some kind of way."

How A Hit-And-Run Driver Ruined My Life

Anyiam, who refused to appear at the Old Bailey for his sentencing citing "psychological reasons", was also banned from driving for a total of 11 years by judge Wendy Joseph QC.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley said he had shown "not a shred of remorse for this family by his actions", adding: "There is no evidence before this court he is unfit to attend."

The court heard that on 19 February, officers in an unmarked van had been undertaken by Anyiam, who appeared to slow down when they activated their blue lights at around 9.45pm.

But as an officer went to exit the vehicle, he raced off, jumping red traffic lights and driving on the wrong side of the carriageway.

He reached speeds of 62mph before hitting Ms Vidal-Garner as she crossed the road, the Old Bailey heard.

The philosophy and Spanish undergraduate had been walking slightly ahead of her boyfriend and a friend when she was hit by Anyiam.

She died at the scene at around 10.20pm from multiple traumatic injuries.

Two days after the crash, Anyiam, whose father is a barrister, handed himself in to a police station and was charged. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and dangerous driving in March.

Anyiam, from Oxted, Surrey, and currently at HMP High Down in Surrey, was sentenced to seven years in his absence after refusing to attend court.

He had 10 previous convictions for 22 offences, including a 14-month driving ban in 2016 for driving with cannabis in his system.