Driver jailed over aspiring doctor's crash death

A man has been jailed for causing death by dangerous driving after he fatally struck an aspiring doctor who was crossing a road in Leeds.

A trial at Leeds Crown Court heard that Ashton Kitchen-White, 19, died at the scene on the Ring Road at Beeston Park on 16 May after he was hit by a Ford Focus ST driven by Regan Kemp.

Kemp, 26, did not give evidence during the trial, but his lawyer told the jury his client was not the driver of the Focus, instead saying it was his friend Liam Miller, 24, behind the wheel - a claim denied by Mr Miller when he gave evidence earlier this week.

Following the trial, Kemp, of Penzance, Cornwall, was found guilty on Thursday and jailed for 15 years and six months.

Kemp was also disqualified from driving for 17 years and two months.

The trial had heard that Kemp had travelled to Leeds from Scotland with Mr Miller and Macauley Martin, 26, who were both from West Lothian.

All three were arrested following the crash, but Mr Miller and Mr Martin were not charged after they maintained they had instead been travelling separately in a Mini Cooper.

The court was shown CCTV footage that pinpointed the men's movements leading up to the incident, including Kemp filling up the Focus at a petrol station as the driver.

Prosecutor Paul Mitchell told the jury that Kemp's "fingerprints were also on the bonnet of the Focus and his DNA was on a bottle in the car".

A video taken from the back seat of the Focus at the moment Mr Kitchen-White was struck on the crossing was also shown to the court.

The jury was told that the Focus, which was left with a shattered windscreen, was abandoned after the incident.

CCTV footage also showed a man running down a street in a panicked state and shouting, before getting into the Mini Cooper with the two other men, which was then driven back to Scotland.

The jury heard that Kemp had handed himself in to police four days later after he had travelled back to his home in Penzance, however he did not answer questions during his police interview.

During the trial, Mr Kemp's lawyer, Syam Soni, said the defence had called no witnesses.

Mr Kitchen-White's family previously said he had been due to start a medical degree at the University of Leeds.

In a statement issued following the sentencing, Mr Kitchen-White's mother, Hayley, said she still "thinks about him all day every day".

"I cannot describe the devastation at the loss of my sweet boy who never did anything wrong and had dreams of becoming a doctor," she said.

"I still say good morning and goodnight sweetheart when I walk past his bedroom, as I have to believe he is still with me in some way."

Meanwhile, his father, Andrew, said Mr Kitchen-White was his "first-born and my first true love".

"Ashton's siblings will never get over the trauma of losing their big brother," he said.

"His two-year-old brother wakes up every day asking if he can see Ashton today. I'm literally living in a nightmare."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.