A motorist who knocked down and killed a pensioner and his dog when he was travelling at double the speed limit has been jailed for 21 months.

Eleazer Lawrence was going at least 60mph in a 30mph zone when he hit John Holmes, 75, on Bradford Road, Brighouse, on July 4 last year, a Court heard.

Mr Holmes, who was out for a Sunday walk with his two RSPCA rescue dogs, was sole carer for his wife who suffered from dementia, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday. Lawrence, 32, of Maypole Close, Kirkheaton, Huddersfield, admitted causing Mr Holmes’ death by careless driving.

The court was told that if Lawrence had been going 6mph slower, Mr Holmes would probably still be alive.

If he had stuck to the legal speed limit, he definitely would not have died, the court heard.

Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said: “Speed kills and if this case doesn’t demonstrate that, then no lesson will be learned.”

John Bull, prosecuting, said Mr Holmes was fit and well and regularly walked the two dogs.

He was very close to the pedestrian refuge in the centre of the road when Lawrence skidded into him. Mr Holmes was shaken and in pain.

He died that evening of multiple injuries and heart failure. One of his dogs died at the scene.

Mr Bull said Lawrence had been to a McDonald’s restaurant with his girlfriend and two children.

He slammed on his brakes when he saw Mr Holmes but the car skidded and he struck him.

Lawrence, who stopped at the crash site, was shocked, distressed and remorseful, his barrister Stephen Uttley said.

He was a hard-working, decent, family man who wanted Mr Holmes’s family to know how sorry he was, said Mr Uttley.

Judge Durham Hall said Mr Holmes’s death was “disastrous” for his family.

He was the sole carer for his wife, who suffered from advanced dementia. The court heard she was now living in a care home.

“The harsh, sad and appalling reality is that had you been going a mere 6mph slower, the collision would likely have been avoided,” the judge said.

Lawrence was also banned from driving for two-and-a-half years.

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