Man on stolen motorbike who killed pensioner crossing street with walking frame jailed

A disqualified driver who killed a pensioner who was crossing a street using a walking frame has been jailed for seven years and four months.

Steven Starrs was riding a stolen motorcycle aggressively and at speed when he struck William Brown, 81, who was making his way to his local bowling club in Blackburn, in West Lothian.

Mr Brown, a retired school janitor, suffered fatal injuries in the collision on July 12 last year as Starrs fled the scene before he was found by police three days later at a friend’s home in Whitburn, West Lothian, hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom.

A judge told Starrs, 38, at the High Court in Edinburgh that Mr Brown was on his way to the bowling club, which was “a place that meant a lot to him and where he would be among his many friends”.

Lady Ross said that in his role as a school janitor, he had been “loved and respected by both pupils and teachers” and had spent part of his earlier life in the RAF serving his country.

She told Starrs: “You were driving aggressively and with a complete disregard for the welfare of anyone else. You ran away from the scene and that was cowardly.”

The judge told Starrs, who has never passed a driving test and whose provisional licence expired eight years ago, that his criminal record was “appalling”.

He was first convicted of driving offences when he was aged 16 and has been banned from driving six times as well as amassing convictions for crimes of dishonesty, drugs offences and possession of firearms.

Lady Ross disqualified him from driving indefinitely and said: “You are a clear danger to other road users.”

Starrs earlier admitted causing the death of Mr Brown at Bathgate Road, Blackburn, by driving at excessive speed in a residential area, failing to keep proper observations of the road ahead and to take evasive action.

He also pled guilty to driving while disqualified on July 12 last year in Blackburn and two days later at roads in Whitburn when he was at the wheel of a car.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice KC said at the time of his death, father-of-two Mr Brown was living on his own following the death of his long-term partner.

He said: “Mr Brown loved bowling but had to give up playing the sport due to his health, however he carried on as a social member and loved to meet his friends at the bowling club.”

“His final job prior to retiring was as a school janitor. He was loved and respected by pupils and teachers alike. Mr Brown was well known in the community and is greatly missed by everyone,” said the prosecutor.

The court heard that Starrs was riding a stolen, orange moto-cross-style motorbike when he struck Mr Brown, who was knocked to the ground and fatally injured.

Collision investigators calculated that he was travelling at 50 mph when he hit the vulnerable victim as he crossed the road in an area where a 30 mph speed limit applied.

Starrs ran off from the scene and got into the back of a black Range Rover before he was driven away from the area.

Mr Prentice said: “Emergency services attended and noted that Mr Brown had sustained a significant head trauma. He was conveyed to hospital where they diagnosed him as having sustained significant injuries, including head trauma, bleeding on the brain, significant blood loss requiring multiple blood transfusions, internal pelvic and abdominal injuries as well as a broken leg and multiple rib fractures.”

Shortly before midnight on July 14, police officers spotted Starrs wearing a face mask at a petrol station in Whitburn. He drove off in a Ford EcoSport and failed to stop as police followed him after activating blue lights.

The pursuit was discontinued but officers traced the vehicle he was driving to a car park in the West Lothian town and went to the address of a known associate of his where they found him hiding in a bedroom.

Mr Prentice said that Starrs’ criminal record began when he was a teenager, and he has amassed convictions for driving without a licence, without insurance, dangerous driving, drug driving and stealing vehicles. He was previously jailed for drug supply and firearms charges.

Lady Ross told Starrs: “I understand you have expressed some remorse for what has happened, although that comes at a relatively late stage.”

The judge told him that if he was convicted of causing the death of Mr Brown by dangerous driving after a trial she would have jailed him for ten years.

She said: “The sentence cannot measure the value of Mr Brown’s life. No sentence can do that.”