Driver convicted of manslaughter after running over postman
A driver who ran over and killed an amateur theatre performer at an English beauty spot has been jailed for nine-and-a-half years.
Kamaljit Dhaliwal, 54, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter after a two-week trial at Coventry Crown Court.
Jobless Dhaliwal, of Holland Road, Radford, Coventry, had admitted causing the death of postman David Lamont by careless driving while under the influence of drink and drugs before his trial began.
The defendant denied deliberately driving over Mr Lamont, whose body was found by a member of the public in a ditch at Corley Rocks, Warwickshire, on October 23 last year.
A police inquiry established that Mr Lamont, a 50-year-old amateur theatre performer, was friends with Dhaliwal and had been to a club with him in the hours before his death.
Opening the Crown's case at the start of the trial, prosecutor Benjamin Aina said Mr Lamont, a volunteer actor with Coventry-based Ego Performance company, suffered chest injuries consistent with lying prone in the road and a car driving over him.
Mr Lamont, a divorced father-of-three who suffered from depression, was found dead in Burrow Hill Lane having allegedly been dragged from underneath Dhaliwal's Jaguar XJ8 saloon.
A court spokesman said Dhaliwal was also given a 13-and-a-half-year driving ban following his conviction for manslaughter.
In a statement issued after proceedings, Detective Inspector Anna Middleton, from Warwickshire Police, said: "Dhaliwal did not intend to kill David but he deliberately hit him with his car causing him fatal injuries.
"He consistently denied this but the jury saw through his lies. He has never taken responsibility for his deliberate actions and never shown any remorse."
The senior officer added: "David was a very popular individual, liked, loved and respected by his family, friends and colleagues.
"He had a lot to live for and it is a tragedy that his life was cut short in this way.
"David's family has acted with dignity throughout this investigation and trial. Unfortunately, they may never know why Dhaliwal did what he did."
