Heartbroken parents of boy, 14, say the way he died 'will haunt us until our dying breaths'
Christopher Arnett was just 14-years-old when he was fatally struck by a car as he crossed a road - his parents have issued an emotional statement following the sentencing of the driver
A driver who accelerated through a red light and fatally struck a 14-year-old boy scout as he was crossing the road has been jailed for five years and six months.
At around 6pm on Thursday 2 February, 2023 Evie Wiles, 25, was distracted by her phone when her Seat Leon car hit 14-year-old Christopher Arnett in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, judge Andrew Hatton said. He was taken to hospital but sadly died the following day.
Sentencing at Luton Crown Court, the judge said he rejected Wiles’ account that the traffic light was on amber, saying: "I’m entirely satisfied that as you approached the traffic lights they changed to red." He said her knowledge of the junction meant she knew that if she had stopped at the red light, she “would be there for some time before they changed to green”.
The judge said it was “difficult if not impossible to assess the speed” at which Wiles was travelling at the time of the collision, at the junction of London Road with Two Waters Road. He said that Wiles said in evidence that she approached the lights at 20-30mph, then accelerated to 30-35mph.
He said she had been exchanging Whatsapp messages with her partner, who she had been travelling to collect. During a police interview, she admitted to accelerating in order to make it through the traffic lights as they changed to amber on her approach. The judge dismissed this account, stating he was “entirely satisfied” that the lights had in fact turned red.
Wiles, now 25, denied causing Christopher’s death by dangerous driving, but was found guilty following an earlier trial at the same court. Wiles, of Lockers Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, looked straight ahead as she was jailed for five years and six months on Friday. She could be released on licence after serving half of this. She was also disqualified from driving for five years and, at the conclusion of the disqualification, will have to take an extended driving test.
Christopher’s mother, Claire Arnett, 52, earlier wiped tears from her eyes as she read a victim impact statement in court, and said: “I mourn the fact I won’t watch him grow into a man, he was one of my best friends.”
The teacher, addressing Wiles in the dock, said: “You’ve not once said sorry… you never even called 999.” Christopher’s father, Lee Arnett, told the court that his son “loved Lego and loved Star Wars and Dr Who and Explorer Scouts”.
The 49-year-old, who is a shift manager for a distribution company, said: “Since that day we’ve been living in a nightmare – the pain of losing Christopher is indescribable.”
Detective Sergeant Ben Heath, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Christopher’s family and friends at what continues to be an extremely difficult time.
“No sentence will ever make up for the unimaginable loss they have suffered. We have worked hard to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision, securing a charge and, ultimately, a prison sentence. I hope this serves as a strong warning to drivers of the devastating consequences that dangerous driving can have.”
In a statement afterwards, Christopher’s parents said: “Losing a child is painful enough, but the brutal way that Christopher was taken from us will haunt us until our dying breaths. His killer destroyed not just his life but all of our lives that day, and we will never forgive her for that and her utter lack of remorse and refusal to accept any wrongdoing.”
They said that Christopher “was just one of those people you knew would do good in the world”. He had been a scout from aged five and was about to start his Duke of Edinburgh award.
Sam Collard, a solicitor at Osbornes Law who represented the family in a civil action, said: “It has taken more than two years to bring Christopher’s killer to justice and, whilst nothing can bring him back, I hope that now legal action is at an end they can finally be left to grieve for their son in peace.”