Drug-driver who killed woman and her dogs in crash jailed for six years

Olivia Riley, 41, was walking two Labradors called Lily and Maia and a golden retriever puppy called Darcy on Cheyne Walk in west London when she was run over by an Audi TT on May 14, 2022.

She was waiting at a traffic island on a pedestrian crossing when she was hit by Laszlo Dancs.

Pizza restaurant worker Dancs drove at speeds of more than three times the 20mph limit before losing control of the car, the Old Bailey heard on Friday.

Suki Dhadda, prosecuting, said Dancs was racing two separate cars beforehand, a BMW and a C-Class Mercedes, and was seen on CCTV accelerating away from traffic lights faster than the Mercedes, overtaking that vehicle before he lost control of the car before the collision.

An Uber driver described the crash in a witness statement read to the court, and said he saw a white male standing outside the Audi after the crash who said “something along the lines of ‘I wasn’t drunk'”.

Dashcam footage from the Uber driver’s vehicle was played to the court which showed the Audi sliding across the carriageway after it lost control and crashing into Ms Riley and the dogs at the pedestrian crossing, then a Mercedes on the opposite side of the road.

An off-duty police officer heard the crash and saw a woman lying on the road with a traffic light pole on top of her. He said he spoke to the driver who kept repeating “the light was green” and tried to blame the Mercedes driver, the prosecution said.

Police and paramedics were called to the street at 6.21am.

Officers spoke to Dancs, who was described as “pacing back and forth” and “speaking very quickly”, and they noted “it was clear alcohol could be smelt”, the prosecution added.

The Audi’s passenger told police he and Dancs had been drinking and had taken cocaine as it was Dancs’s birthday that day, the court heard.

Ms Riley, from Suffolk, was found dead at the scene, while the dogs also died, police said.

Dancs, 28, had minor injuries and was arrested and taken into custody.

He was found to be almost two-and-a-half times over the legal limit for alcohol and drugs.

Two bottles of vodka, one of which was empty, and a small bag of cocaine were found in the Audi TT, along with a dashcam but with no SD card, the prosecution added.

At a previous hearing at the Old Bailey, Dancs, from Acton, west London, pleaded guilty to causing Ms Riley’s death by dangerous driving.

He also pleaded guilty to drink and drug-driving, but denied failing to provide a sample of breath when required.

In a statement from Ms Riley’s father Stephen, read by her uncle Mark Riley, she was described as the “brightest light”.

He said Ms Riley’s mother died in childbirth and he brought her up on his own, before he married again when she was 18 and this marriage provided her with a sister and a brother, Leonora and Kit.

Mr Riley said Ms Riley “loved deeply and cared for” her siblings “as a mother figure” when his wife died after a cancer diagnosis.

“Olivia was a remarkably loving and generous person and cared for everyone she knew,” the statement added.

“The accused has left Leonora and Kit with not only no mother but the person who was guiding them with so much love and care throughout. They are devastated and suffering terribly as a result.

“I have lost someone who was a brightest light in my life for 41 years and who I will miss and mourn so deeply throughout my final years.”

A statement from Ms Riley’s cousin Chris Riley was read by another cousin, Ellie Clayson, describing her as “a shining light that was extinguished too soon”.

He added: “All who knew her knew she was thoughtful and supporting of others, she was a guardian angel to her father as they navigated life’s challenges together.”

Ms Riley’s aunt Suzanne Riley was in tears as she described her as “a treasured member of our family”.

Another aunt, Zoe Clayson, said Ms Riley’s “senseless and avoidable death has ripped the heart out of me”.

She said: “All her hopes and dreams were wiped out in an instant in the most horrific way.”

She added that she finds the defendant’s use of social media “abhorrent, showing no remorse as he posts about fast cars and his pets”.

Jeremy Dein KC, defending, said Dancs had experienced a break-up of a long-term relationship before the incident and had gone to a nightclub to celebrate his birthday before the crash without the intention of drinking alcohol, and he initially intended to get a taxi home.

He said more people came and Dancs drank beer, vodka and took a line of cocaine, which he maintains was his first experience.

“And then of course he made the most monumental mistake imaginable which was to get into his vehicle and drive it,” Mr Dein added.

He said Dancs accepts his driving was erratic and dangerous and he is “heartbroken” about what happened.

Mr Dein added that Dancs did not try to blame anyone else, adding “we know from evidence he was clearly distressed and in a state of shock” and said he was misinterpreted.

Mr Dein said the defendant, who moved to the UK from Hungary in 2014, has an “overwhelming sense of guilt”.

Judge Simon Medland KC sentenced Dancs to six years and eight months in prison, of which he will serve half.

The defendant was also disqualified from driving for five years and four months and will have to take an extended retest.

Judge Medland said: “No sentence any court could ever impose should be considered as a measure of Olivia Riley’s life and its tragic, appalling, needless and avoidable end.”