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Dublin: 9 °C Saturday 18 May, 2013

Manchester City youngster jailed for crash that killed brother and sister

18-year-old Courtney Meppen-Walter was driving at nearly double the speed limit of 30 miles.

Manchester City youth player Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, arrives at court.
Manchester City youth player Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, arrives at court.
Image: Dave Higgens/PA Wire

A MANCHESTER CITY youth player broke down in tears today as he was jailed for 16 months for killing a brother and sister while speeding in his Mercedes in central Manchester.

A Manchester court heard that 18-year-old Courtney Meppen-Walter was driving at nearly double the speed limit of 30 miles per hour when he hit a car carrying Kulwant Singh, 32, and his 37-year-old sister, Ravel Kaur. Both siblings, who hailed from the Manchester area, were killed, while Ms Kaur’s two sons, aged 16 and 17, were injured.

Meppen-Walter, who was also the captain of England’s under-18 side, will serve half his sentence in custody but may be released earlier and obliged to wear an electronic tag. The judge also banned him from driving for three years and ordered the sale of the car, with the proceeds to go to the injured passengers.

Meppen-Walter’s lawyer, Gwyn Lewis, said his client was “truly sorry” for what he had done.

“To begin, it has to be said this type of case is one that should always be described as tragic,” Lewis said. “Tragic of course for the family, those who lost loved ones and were very badly injured. But also it’s a tragedy for the defendant.

“He was only just 18. He became involved in a matter that only took a few seconds that will remain with him for the rest of his life. The incident was over in a flash. He stayed at the scene and tried to assist, but it was already too late.”

- © AFP, 2013

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Comments (14 Comments)

  • There’s no winners here. RIP.

    Reply
  • Its an awful tragedy. I feel for the driver. He did the decent thing at least and hung around after the accident. God help the poor family of the teenagers. Life must be terrible hard now. I think young drivers should only be let drive a 1000cc car til they are 25 at least

    Reply
  • Stupid kid! He’s thrown his career away now. The tragedy though is for the two people that were killed.

    Awful altogether.

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    • His career wont be effected by this. He will get out and even if City have sacked him he will still get a club to take him on. The football world has short memories. Lee Hughes for instance, still a pro footballer even after being jailed for something similar.

      Reply
    • So if he does his time, do you really find it fair that he should never work as a footballer again?

      That’s not the idea of justice to me.

      It’s a tragic case, and 2 lives destroyed but no need to destroy his in my opinion.

      Reply
  • pg 28/02/13 #

    An 18 year old with a Mercedes ??? Like having a loaded weapon !!Enough said …

    Reply
  • Am I the only one here who thinks he should have gotten at least 10 years in prison! He was going double the speed limit! I don’t understand people’s nonchalant attitude on this. He has NO excuse (certainly not his age). If he was going the speed limit the crash probably wouldn’t have happened and if it would have anyway it’s very possible that nobody would have been killed (of course I don’t know all the circumstances of the crash).

    Reply
  • why is there even a debate here? the article contains nothing but the facts. those facts being that this guy was excessively speeding, caused a major accident in a built up area killing two people and injuring more in the process, also he’s a man city player. why shouldnt he be locked up? why shouldnt his career suffer to reflect his sheer stupidity and disregard for life? as i said, no debate, just facts.

    Reply
  • What good is locking him up? He didn’t set out to kill them. He was acting like a fool but now has a life sentence with the fact he kill two kids and ruined a family and his life and career. Sending him to prison does nothing but tie up a place in prison that could be used to hold a rapist or drug dealer for there full sentence.

    Reply
    • I see your point, but imagine the real sadistic individuals who then think they can speed and kill innocents and then not have to go to jail.

      At the end of the day, 2 people are dead because of his actions. Hes very lucky he was sentenced to 20 years.

      Reply
    • Woah, two different crimes there Jason! He is guilty of causing death by dangerous driving because there is no intent. If he was a maniac who intended to kill people it doesn’t matter that a car is his weapon, the intent makes it murder.

      Reply
  • Is there anything more frightening than seeing a young man without a tertiary education step into a fast car? These are the same youths who played need for speed on the playstation or x box. Unfortunately, I will get no red thumbs as these same youths are out there causing havoc and doing wheel spins away from social media and “arrive alive” adverts! Cars, the most lethal weapon apart from a South African gun

    Reply

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