A DRIVER has been jailed for 18 months after crashing into and killing a man who had gone to the aid of another motorist.

Michael Parker, 61, died almost instantly after the car mounted the pavement to try and undertake a recovery truck that was dealing with the aftermath of an earlier accident.

Driver Sajaad Munawar, 27, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and has been banned from driving for five years after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Sycamore said it was an "entirely avoidable tragedy." He said: "You displayed some very bad driving skills over a short distance. You were aware of the presence of the recovery vehicle, but you chose to drive on and maintain your speed.

"You made a number of assumptions about the situation that were entirely unjustified, then you found yourself in a position where you could not take evasive action."

Preston Crown Court heard that the accident happened around 6.20am on Saturday, November 11, last year near Mr Parker's home in Preston New Road, Mellor Brook.

Recovering expert Michael Prescott was winching a damaged BMW on to his truck when Munawar's Vauxhall Astra approached. Mark Lambert, QC, prosecuting, said that Munawar's Astra failed to slow down and mounted the footpath as it tried to pass the recovery vehicle on the inside.

The car narrowly missed Mr Prescott as well as bystanders Stephen Cotton and his three-year-old son Thomas. But it hit Mr Parker head on.

Munawar, of Deepdale Road, Preston, always denied the offence.

Richard Clews, QC, defending, said that Munawar had seen the recovery vehicle which was parked in the road with lights flashing, but had assumed it was on the pavement.

He said that at the last minute he decided to swerve to the left of the vehicle away from oncoming traffic again because he assumed no one would be on the pavement.

Accident investigators said at the time of the collision Munawar's car was travelling at 43mph, just above the speed limit.

Munawar, a Pakistani national, was on his way to his part time job as a receptionist in Blackburn at the time of the accident.

He was in Preston to complete exams to become an officer in the Pakistani Merchant Navy, a future that may now be in doubt.

A separate investigation into the conduct of two police officers is now expected to be completed.

At the time of the crash PC Christopher Hilton and Sergeant Ian Boothby had left the scene, leaving the recovery expert to complete his work without a police presence.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission will now look into the situation having delayed investigation pending the outcome of the court proceedings.

After the case, Sheila Rainger, head of campaigns for the RAC Foundation, said: "Families in these situations very often feel that justice has not been done and that the punishment does not fit the crime.

"Currently there are strict limits on sentencing in these cases."

"But we want the courts to recognise in incidents like this that a loved one has been lost and the sentence should reflect that."