Thief killed father-of-three with his own van

A career car thief who killed a delivery driver with his own vehicle wept as he was jailed for seven years.

Terrell Thuesday, 28, touched his heart and mouthed "I'm sorry" to the family of his victim Charles Bunyasi as he was led from the dock.

Father-of-three Mr Bunyasi, 49, was mown down while delivering flowers as a part-time job to support his children. The youngest has leukaemia.

He left his van keys in the ignition with the engine running during a quick drop-off at Coulsdon in June and Thuesday, who was driving past, climbed into the driver's seat after abandoning his own vehicle.

Croydon crown court heard that Mr Bunyasi, of Mitcham, raced to the passenger door but was knocked to the ground as the thief sped off. He suffered fatal head injuries and was pronounced dead several hours later in hospital.

Thuesday almost caused several crashes as he drove wildly away. He returned to the death scene to collect the hired van he had abandoned but realised it was trapped in a police cordon and tried to persuade two other men to pick it up for him.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The court banned him from driving for 10 years.

Judge Warwick McKinnon told him: "You recklessly killed a quite innocent man who was going about his lawful business."