Rosie Hanson: Speeding pizza delivery driver lost control of vehicle before killing Ryan Phillips

A pizza delivery driver who drove at nearly 60 mph before hitting and killing a pedestrian has been spared jail.

Rosie Hanson was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday for causing the death of Ryan Phillips through careless driving on January 17, 2024.

The court heard the 27-year-old man walked to a nearby restaurant with his girlfriend Sophie Rowe to celebrate finishing his apprenticeship as an IT technician.

But as they set off “chatting and laughing” as they walked along the pavement at around 6.40pm, they were hit by Hanson’s VW Golf along Marine Parade in Sheerness, Kent.

Prosecutor Tom Nicholson told the court Ms Rowe was shot in the legs before she ran to Mr Phillips and saw blood coming from his mouth.

Mr Phillips’ autopsy revealed that he had received a blow to his head on the windshield of the car, and it was stated that this was “absolutely irreparable head trauma from the very beginning”.

Hanson got out of his car and spoke to emergency services by calling 999; He said he thought he hit someone delivering pizza in his car and a cat jumped into the road, “causing it to hit the pavement.”

Mr Nicholson said evidence from Hanson’s iPhone showed he had exceeded the 40mph speed limit and reached speeds of around 54 to 68mph before losing control.

He added that it was “difficult to confirm or deny” that he saw an animal that prompted him to veer to the right to avoid it.

“The speed at which Ms. Hanson was traveling, combined with her sudden steering response, caused the vehicle to become unstable, causing her to overreact to the situation and make a clockwise turn, crossing the oncoming lane, mounting the pavement and colliding with Mr. Phillips and Ms. Rowe,” he said.

The court heard Hanson was working as a manager for his father and then received a call from a pizza company where he was working temporarily.

Sentencing him, Judge Julian Smith found after expert analysis that Hanson had been traveling at a speed of around 60 miles per hour.

“The tragic loss is due to the failure of Rosie Hanson’s driving,” he said.

“It’s stupid to speed up a job to deliver pizza, but that in itself is not malicious… it shouldn’t happen.”

Hanson was also sentenced to a concurrent nine-month sentence for driving while uninsured because his insurance coverage did not extend to commercial or professional use for his second job.

The judge emphasized that his sentence was “not a measure” of a man’s life, but a “measure” of his culpability for the crime, and adjusted his sentence to reflect his young age, 19 at the time.

“In my view there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. I accept that he poses a low risk of re-offending and does not pose any danger whatsoever,” the judge added.

Judge Smith acknowledged the impact of Mr Phillip’s death was “extraordinary and ongoing”, with Ms Rowe describing him as a “warm, enthusiastic and generous man”.

“The time I spent with Mr. Phillips was truly valuable,” he said.

In victim impact statements read to the court by Ms Rowe, she said the couple had been together for about four years and planned to move in together and that Mr Phillips was “very, very excited” about his new dream job working in IT in a prison.

“The night before he died, he told me he planned to save up for an engagement ring, and that made me very happy,” she said.

“We were waiting for that extra step in Ryan’s life, (he) finally accomplished something he wanted to do.”

She described her partner as “a gentle giant who would do anything for anyone” and added: “Losing Ryan ruined my life. I was planning on spending the rest of my life with him.”

“I feel like I can’t do this anymore because she was my everything.”

Mr Phillips’ mother, Catherine Phillips, said he was not only her son but also his “best friend” and one of the most “selfless people” you could ever meet.

Building a future for herself, he described her as compassionate, thoughtful, and “full of love for the people around her.”

“The whole future was taken away from him in an instant,” he said.

“My life has been shattered. I struggle to get through it every day. The grief is constant and overwhelming, the silence it leaves behind is unbearable.”

“I will carry this pain, this loss for the rest of my life.”

In another statement, Ms. Phillips added how, on the night of Mr. Phillips’ death, Hanson fought to be allowed to go home rather than being arrested at the scene and how he was charged via email.

As a grieving parent, he said he felt the seriousness of the incident was not reflected in how the defendant was treated.

But Hanson’s lawyer Allan Goh said Thursday’s sentencing was the first opportunity for Hanson to express his feelings towards Mr Phillips’ family and that he had expressed genuine remorse.

In a letter Hanson read to the judge in court, he said: “I am writing this letter to express my deepest apologies to you, Ryan’s family and friends.

“I can’t put into words how sorry I am that this happened and if I could go back and change it I would do it in seconds.

“Ryan, from what I saw on social media, you seemed like a nice guy, which made me uncomfortable.”

The defendant, of Mimosa Avenue, Minster-on-Sea, Sheerness, had previously denied causing death by careless driving at a hearing in December last year, but later changed his plea and admitted causing death while uninsured in May this year.

The judge also ordered him to complete 220 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for three years, subject to passing a long-term driving test.