Driver who killed teenager in crash avoids prison

A driver who admitted killing a teenager in a head-on crash has been handed a suspended sentence.

A judge at Oxford Crown Court sentenced pharmacist Jagjeet Gujral, from Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, after hearing the crash near Haywards Heath was a momentary lapse.

Gujral, 67, hit Burgess Hill motorcyclist Charlie Chandler, who was planning a gap year after passing his A-levels, on 30 August 2022, and the 18-year-old died in hospital five days later.

Judge Nott banned Gujral from driving, ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and gave him a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Gujral initially denied causing death by careless driving but changed his plea in November.

"Even brief carelessness can have lifelong consequences," Nott said.

The judge described Chandler as a "popular and hardworking" person and "an independent thinker who made his mum the best cups of tea".

Chandler's mum Emma told the court she still felt fear when any of her family were out of sight, and his younger brother described him as his role model and gaming partner.

The judge told the court Gujral most likely misjudged the positioning of a van pulling out of a driveway and failed to see Chandler coming towards him before the crash.

"Hedgerows obscured the van until you were relatively close to it," she said.

Character witnesses described Gujral as a man committed to community service who had no previous convictions and an otherwise clean driving record.

Gujral tested positive for 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - below the legal limit of 35 micrograms - and the judge agreed alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

The judge accepted his "profound, heartfelt and genuine remorse".

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