Driver who killed police worker in crash jailed

A man who killed a pedestrian while driving at almost double the road's 30mph speed limit has been jailed for nine years.

Police worker Ellie Smart, 29, was struck by a black Vauxhall Astra on Donetsk Way, Sheffield, while crossing the road just after 07:30 GMT on 25 January 2024.

Dean Tolan, 36, of Bowman Drive in Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court earlier having pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson, said: "She had her life ahead of her. You ended it because of your dangerous driving."

Smart, a communications officer for South Yorkshire Police, had been in the road at an uncontrolled crossing, heading back to her parents' house after taking a walk, the court heard.

Tolan, travelling at 58mph in the direction of Crystal Peaks, did not see her in the road and failed to stop before colliding with her.

He remained at the scene and contacted the emergency services immediately.

One witness who stopped at the scene told the court he kept repeating "she came from nowhere" and was "visibly upset".

Smart was taken to Northern General Hospital but was pronounced dead as a result of her injuries soon after arrival.

Judge Richardson said Tolan would "almost certainly" have stopped in time if he had been travelling at or below the speed limit and been wearing glasses.

The prosecution said he had been given glasses in November 2021 for full-time wear and had a condition on his license that he must wear them while driving, although Tolan said he had been unaware of this.

There was also evidence that Tolan had been on the phone close to the time of the collision, but there was no way to know if he had been at the moment of the crash.

Judge Richardson said, whether at the precise moment or not, his use of the phone showed an "utter disregard for the rules of the road".

Tolan was emotional throughout the hearing, often hanging his head and putting his face in his hands.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and had experienced mental health crises in that year and in 2024 after Smart's death.

His defence barrister said he lived with and had been impacted by the guilt.

"Had he gone a different way, had he filled his car [the night before], maybe this wouldn't have happened. These are the thoughts he is left with," he said.

In a statement read to the court on her behalf, Smart's mum said: "She was a kind, considerate, caring and supportive daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and friend.

"Her dry sense of humour made us laugh constantly."

"Most heartbreakingly of all", she said, was that Smart never got to meet her niece who was named after her.

"Even now, two years later, hearing an ambulance brings a lump to the throat," the family statement added.

"Her whole family, friends and colleagues loved her and struggle to come to terms with her death."

Judge Richardson told Tolan: "You caused the death of a delightful young woman, aged 29, who had her whole life ahead of her.

"The family is utterly devastated. They will never recover from this."

Tolan was jailed for nine years and will be disqualified from driving for 10 years following his release.

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