Parents' fury at driver's jail term cut

A drink-driver who ploughed into a teenage girl on Christmas Day as she returned home from midnight mass had his six-year jail term cut to five years by the Court of Appeal today.

The parents of 18-year-old Amy Gonzales condemned the judges and branded killer Craig Smith's appeal against his sentence "obscene".

Amy was hit by a BMW being driven by Smith, 22, who was one-and-a-half times over the alcohol limit and was travelling at 54mph in a 30mph zone.

The three Court of Appeal judges also slashed a 15-year driving ban to seven years.

Amy's mother Melanie Gonzales, 43, said after the hearing: "I don't understand how someone with such a callous disregard for human life can only be put away for five years. How can I cope with that?"

But Mrs Justice Hallett, sitting with Lord Justice Rose and Mrs Justice Dobbs, said the driver had expressed "genuine remorse" and deserved credit for his early guilty plea.

The judge said she knew that for the victim's family, "no sentence is long enough for the man who robbed them of their beloved Amy".

Yet despite cutting Smith's sentence she declared: "We do not wish to add in any way to the pain and grief of Amy's family. We have bourne very much in mind the devastating impact on them."

The victim's father Kevin, 45, a construction manager, said: "This just cheapens all our lives. We keep thinking back to Christmas morning. At one o'clock Craig Smith destroyed our family in front of us. Although he's got five years he will be out in two and will be back among us."

Since their daughter's death, Mr and Mrs Gonzales have campaigned against drink driving.

Smith of Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire, was driving his BMW down the high street of St Neots when the accident happened. Amy was crossing the road with her boyfriend, trainee teacher Paul Ray, when they were hit. Mr Ray suffered a collapsed lung and serious leg fractures.

Smith pleaded guilty in April to causing death by dangerous driving and to driving with excess alcohol.

The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 10 years. Offenders who plead guilty at an early stage usually have their sentence reduced by a third.