Teenager killed girl, 7, on pink scooter while speeding on stolen motorbike
A teenager who hit and killed a seven-year-old girl while riding a stolen motorbike has been sentenced to 64 months detention.
Katniss Seleznev was thrown around 20 metres when she was hit as the boy, who cannot be named due to his age, rode a blue Suzuki motorbike at around 52mph on Turnstone Road, Walsall, on the evening of 27 July last year.
The schoolgirl was riding a pink three-wheeled scooter outside her home with her twin brother and older sister when she was hit on the 30mph residential road, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
The teen, who is now 15 but was 14 at the time of the fatal crash, did not stop at the scene but went to a nearby road before hiding the bike, which was later found burnt in some bushes.
Following his arrest, the boy gave no comment answers in interview, but pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court in April.
Flowers left at the scene near to where Katniss died. Pic: PA
A witness told police the motorbike, being ridden by a boy with his hood up and his face covered by a balaclava, narrowly avoided crashing into her vehicle as the bike travelled on the wrong side of the road towards her.
Collision investigators said there were no obvious signs the rider had tried to brake before hitting Katniss.
Katniss’s mother Lina, who listened to proceedings through a Bulgarian interpreter, cried quietly as CCTV images showing her children riding their scooters in the street were played before a clip showing her youngest daughter flying through the air after the collision.
Judge Michael Chambers KC, Recorder of Wolverhampton, said he could not begin to imagine the impact Katniss’s death has had on her parents and siblings as a result of the “appalling” crash.
He sentenced the teenager to serve half of a 64-month sentence in detention before being released on licence.
The crash happened on Turnstone Road, Walsall, in the West Midlands. Pic: PA
‘You didn’t even stop to help’
“This was, as you now appreciate, an appalling offence, aggravated by the fact you didn’t even stop to help but rode on and you sought to dispose of the motorbike, presumably to try and frustrate the police investigation,” he said.
“It was a motorbike that was stolen some weeks prior and because of your age, you shouldn’t have been driving at all.
“There is no suggestion you braked and Katniss had no chance. It is fair to say that you were upset after the collision and I accept you are remorseful, but it was the police who came to you, not the other way round.”
The teenager had been previously convicted of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving without insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, and had been given a referral order.
Defending, Robert Cowley said the boy had a difficult upbringing and was developmentally immature for his age, but by entering a guilty plea he had shown remorse.
The teenager looked solemn, dressed in a blue hooded top and black trousers, and kept his head down during proceedings.
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‘Time isn’t going to heal this loss’
Katniss was described by her father Bojil as “full of joy” and a “dream child”, in a statement read to the court.
It added that Katniss and her twin brother were born after the couple “fought for five years” through multiple miscarriages and IVF rounds.
“God finally gave them to us. Then Katniss was left to die like an animal in the street,” the statement said.
“Time isn’t going to heal this loss. We shouldn’t have outlived our child.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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