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‘We feel like driver has got away with it’
Katie Hopton17/11/2006
'THIS will never go away.' That is the agonised message from a devastated family to the speeding driver that killed a much-loved mother and grandmother.
Catherine Rhodes, the younger sister of Glenys Mason, says she feels 'disgusted' and 'cheated.'
She believes there is 'no justice' in the sentence of three years' imprisonment and a four-year driving ban handed down to Rafaqat Hussain after his car ploughed into Mrs Mason and her son Gareth as they walked in Albert Royds Street in May last year.
The pair were on their way to the Belfield home of Mrs Mason's sister, Mavis MacDonald, who was cooking their tea.
Mrs Rhodes, of Drake Street, said: "I am so angry I can't even let it out.
"I have not been able to grieve for my sister properly yet, but I know that one day I will have to let it all out.
"Our family is very close and we have waited almost two years for justice.
"But we feel he has got away with it."
Twenty-nine-year-old Gareth still has difficulty sleeping, suffers from mood swings and nightmares and is troubled by his injuries.
Gareth lived with Mrs Mason, a 54-year-old former nurse who gave up work to provide 24-hour care for her son at Buckley View, Smallbridge.
He now lives at Oaklands House for people with learning difficulties at Firgrove and regularly stays with his doting family.
Mrs Rhodes said: "Gareth is never going to get over this.
"He still thinks his mum is going to come back.
"He suffers from mood swings and we are now having to help him and put him right as best we can."
Mrs Rhodes attended the hearing at Manchester Crown Court with her husband Christopher, Gareth and his younger brother James, aged 26, her sister Mavis MacDonald, her eldest brother David Reid, her brother-in-law Colin Gibson and her nephews Simon MacDonald and Vincent Suggitt.
She said: "The court heard a sad story about the driver's mother.
"But there was no mention of our mother Kathleen, who is 77, and was taken very ill. She has lost a daughter."
She added: "My sister didn't deserve what happened to her.
"She was a very quiet person, very kind and she looked after her son.
"Those two went everywhere together.
"All they were doing were walking to my sister's home to have their tea.
"But he put her through a railing and took her life."
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19/11/2006 at 22:30