Anger as driver who injured boy set to be released

The family of a boy who was hit by an uninsured driver are calling for tougher sentences after learning the offender could be released within weeks, having only been in jail for four months.

James Doherty, then aged 18, hit four year-old Carlos at a bus stop when he lost control of his BMW in Bristol in November, leaving him with life-changing injuries including needing help to walk.

He was sentenced to two years and two months in a young offenders' institute in January after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but is now due to be released before the end of April.

Carlos' mum Rebekahh said it made her "blood boil" when she learned Doherty was eligible for early release.

Rebekahh, her partner Charlie Crane and Carlos' father Ben Haines have now launched "Justice for Carlos" to campaign for longer sentences for dangerous drivers.

The campaign is both for Carlos "and anyone in future that goes through the same kind of stuff we've been through," Rebekahh told BBC Bristol.

Carlos spent weeks in hospital after the crash in the Lawrence Weston area, and members of the emergency services initially thought he was not going to survive.

He suffered collapsed lungs, a fractured pelvis, fractured ribs, a spinal fracture and a bleed on the brain.

He is now partially sighted, meaning he needs help walking, and has a long-term heart condition that causes him chest pain and needs to be constantly monitored by doctors.

Mr Crane said the decision to release Doherty "feels like complete injustice from our country".

"How you can nearly kill a four-year-old boy at a bus stop and walk within five months and not even set foot in an adult prison is beyond belief," he said.

"(Doherty) should have served real time."

Carlos was previously quiet and shy, but is now "0 to 100mph" in his mood swings and his family fear he may have suffered brain damage.

Mr Haines said trying to care for a disabled child had left them all run down, and had taken its toll on the little boy's five siblings.

"They've all been forced to grow up to help Carlos. They are having to be adults when they are supposed to be children," he said.

"It's hard to get out of bed every day knowing what you've got to do, and what you've got to put up with and what we have got to live with now."

At his sentencing hearing, Bristol Crown Court heard Doherty was driving at an "inappropriate speed" in a BMW he had only purchased that day.

He fled the scene with his pregnant wife who had been a passenger, leaving passers-by trying to lift the car off Carlos.

Doherty later handed himself into the police.

A Government spokesperson said: "This was a shocking crime and our thoughts remain with those affected.

"Dangerous driving destroys lives which is why causing serious injury by dangerous driving can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison."

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