Jail for drink-driver who killed mum in front of her own daughter outside Kimberworth family home

Theodore Mkuhlani (26), of Gaunt Drive, Sheffield, was locked up for eight years at Sheffield Crown Court today (Thursday) after admitting causing the death of 57-year-old Tina Hartley by driving dangerously.

Ms Hartley died after the car Mkuhlani was driving crashed into her after she had just got out of her own car in Pitt Street, Kimberworth, on August 7, 2018.

Ms Hartley’s daughter Abigail (33) was sat in the passenger seat of the car at the time of the collision. The pair had just arrived at Ms Hartley’s mother’s home.

The court heard the defendant had been driving at speed and erratically before the crash.

Ms Hartley was crushed between her car and Mkuhlani’s vehicle. She suffered a fractured skull, bleed on the brain and multiple other fractures. She was taken to hospital but died from her injuries.

Mkuhlani failed to stop at the scene but was quickly arrested by police after crashing into another vehicle just metres up the road, causing the driver of that vehicle to suffer minor injuries. 

Judge Peter Kelson said there was no sentence he could pass that could come close to ending Ms Hartley’s family’s profound pain. 

Sentencing Mkuhlani, he said: “This is a case of the most serious kind and a custodial sentence must be given. 

“Members of the public had called the police because they were concerned by your driving moments before the collision took place after you ran through a red traffic light.

“You were told by a friend earlier in the day to not get back into the car, but you did get back in the car. 

“You were drunk and you killed your victim when the daughter was present. 

“Your behaviour after was grotesque. Telling the distressed daughter that it was her mother’s fault, which is nothing short of repulsive.”

In a statement read to the court, Ms Hartley’s mother, Valerie Smith, described her “precious and beautiful” daughter as a “treasure” who was a “bright light on a dark day”.

Judge Kelson sentenced Mkuhlani to eight years in prison and handed him a 14-year driving ban. 

South Yorkshire Police have been contacted for a custody image.

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