Man jailed for driving weeks after fatal crash sentence

A man whose lack of concentration caused a crash that killed his passenger has been jailed after he was spotted driving just weeks after being disqualified.

Michael Ronner, 40, of Courtney Road in Kingswood near Bristol, was handed a suspended six-month prison sentence in June for a crash that killed Tyler Carley. Ronner was also banned from driving for 18 months.

Just weeks after the June sentencing, an officer said it was "beyond frustrating" to then spot Ronner driving in Mangotsfield again.

Ronner pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance in August and was handed an eight-month prison sentence at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday.

Police said when he was stopped, Ronner told the officer that his disqualification had been "harsh".

PC Dan Hamblin, the attending officer, said: "To see him behind the wheel of a car just a few weeks later was beyond frustrating.

"To then hear him describe his disqualification from driving as 'harsh' shows a complete lack of understanding of the impact of his decisions."

Ronner pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving following the crash in June 2023, and was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.

The court was told how Ronner had been driving along the A4174 in Mangotsfield in a scaffolding lorry with two passengers when he collided with the central reservation and overturned.

Noelie Poupard, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the tragic death was a direct result of Ronner's "lack of concentration and not appropriately ensuring the safety of his passengers while driving".

PC Mano Higgins, the family liaison officer for Tyler's family, said the family have had to endure not only the loss of a much-loved family member, but also Ronner showing no remorse.

"It is apparent that he had scant disregard for the judicial system having been caught driving whilst disqualified only a matter of weeks after being sentenced for causing the death of Tyler.

"I would like to thank Tyler's family for the fortitude and dignity they have displayed over the last three years," Higgins added.

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