Driver, 20, avoids jail for running over pedestrian, killing dog

An unlicensed UK driver who seriously injured a pedestrian and killed her dog while recklessly speeding three years ago avoided jail time this week — which the victim blasted as “effectively getting away” with the crime.

Kallum Aish, 20, was ordered to serve 22 months suspended 18 months Wednesday in Birmingham court, meaning that he will only face prison if he doesn’t complete a court-ordered 30-day rehab program, BirminghamLive reported.

The slap on the wrist comes after he pleaded guilty to a slew of charges stemming from the July 2020 accident that injured a grandmother of six, Patricia Faulker.

“Oh my God. I have been waiting all this time [for him to be sentenced] and he’s effectively got away with it,” victim Faulker, 75, who lost her Staffordshire bull terrier, Millie, in the wreck, told The Daily Mail.

“This isn’t justice,” she insisted.

The light punishment is likely due to Aish’s age at the time of the accident, BirminghamLive explained.

Aish was only 17 years old when the black Renault Clio he was driving came off the pavement on Doe Bank Lane, Great Barr, and struck Faulker and Millie around 4:55 p.m. on July 22, 2020, the local network stated.

CCTV footage of the wreck shows how Faulkner and Millie were “propelled into the hedge row,” prosecutor Rebecca Da Silva told the court, per BirminghamLive.

Faulkner suffered a broken leg and a concussion, and Millie was tragically killed at the scene, the court heard.

“I bounced off his windscreen and flew over the hedge into a field, where he left me unconscious,” Faulkner recalled to the Mail.

“My leg will never be the same. There are a lot of people around here who have been waiting for the sentencing and they will be as outraged as I am by the result.”

Ahead of Aish’s sentencing, the court also heard a victim impact statement that touched on the loss of Faulker and her family’s beloved pup.

“I owned her for four years, she was a rescue dog. She was my world, an absolutely wonderful dog,” she wrote.

“She was out for a walk and I can’t understand how anybody could leave a dying dog alone in pain. I will forever miss her. Nothing will replace her.”

Faulker still has difficulty walking, and now relies partly on her disabled husband Michael, 78, to care for her, prosecutor Richard Purchase added, the BBC reported.

“Having seen the footage, Miss Faulkner is very lucky to still be alive, having been hit by the car in that way,” Purchase surmised.

At the sentencing, Judge Mukherjee explained that Faulker and her family will not be awarded damages because Aish is unemployed and lives with his mother, BirminghamLive said.

Aish had two passengers in the car with him, and was traveling at least double the 20 mph speed limit at the time of the crash, the outlet explained

Prosecutors previously claimed the teen was racing a friend at the time of the crash, but he has denied the allegations, per the BBC.

He fled the scene of the accident, and only turned himself in to West Midlands Police a week later when the grisly CCTV of the collision was released as part of an appeal for public information, the outlet explained.

Aish was “extremely immature” and showed “callous disregard” at the time of the incident, defense attorney Richard Davenport admitted in court – but has since had his own share of health issues and has been the target of serious hate from the community.

“There was so much venom towards the family from the local community the home ended up being firebombed. It wasn’t burnt down but the front window was destroyed by a petrol bomb and they had to move,” Davenport alleged.

“The defendant received death threats on social media from members of the public. He completely lost touch with his circle of friends.”

Aish was being treated for cancer at the time of the firebomb incident, Davenport claimed.

In the wake of the accident, the attorney continued, the young man was also the victim of his own roadway near-miss.

“On December 5 the defendant was riding his bike down the road when he was hit by another vehicle. The collision shattered the right side of his skull,” he alleged, noting that Aish’s mother viewed the accident as “karma” for the July 2020 tragedy.

Judge Mukherjee was skeptical of the defense and slammed Aish’s “reckless and dangerous behavior.”

“The bottom line Mr. Aish is you shouldn’t have even been driving at all on that day,” he told the court, as reported by BirminghamLive.

“You had no license and no insurance. You already had previously breached the road traffic laws of the country. Worse was to follow. This was aggressive driving at excessive speed and frankly it’s obvious to all, in particular me, you were racing someone else,” he continued.

“I put it down to machismo, ego and testosterone. You were an inexperienced driver at the time. You lost control vividly and swerved into an innocent pedestrian Patricia Faulkner who was taking Millie for a walk with devastating consequences to both.

“Those driving them must have a duty of care to other road users. You significantly neglected that duty. Not only did Millie die but Mrs Faulkner suffered life-changing injuries.”

In addition to charges directly related to the accident, Aish also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis after 25 bags of the class B drug were found in his bedroom, BirminghamLive said.

As part of his sentence, AIsh is banned from driving for three years and is ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation and a Stepping Stones program, the judge said.

“This is an exceptional course I am taking for very serious offenses. You will get one chance. You will not get another,” he cautioned Aish.