The mother of a six-year-old girl killed when a stolen Vauxhall Astra hit the car she was in, has penned an emotional letter to her local paper revealing how the killer driver has wrecked the lives of her family.

Sharon Sawyer also thanked The Journal, in Newcastle, for its support launching a campaign which calls for the maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving to be increased.

Sharon’s daughter Rebecca was killed instantly when the car she was in was hit by a stolen Vauxhall Astra being driven by Ian Carr. Her 20-month-old daughter, Kirsty, is still in hospital.

But despite having 89 previous convictions and being involved in a death in a stolen car before, Carr was jailed for just nine-and-a-half years.

In her 27 paragraph letter, which Sharon asked to be printed in The Journal, she said: “I hope Ian Carr rots in prison for what has happened to my family.

“This was no accident, Ian Carr drove through a red light at no less than 45mph and made no attempt to use his brakes.

“This ‘accident’ should not have happened in the first place if Carr had served his time in prison.

“My family have had no apologies or remorse shown to us by any of the people in that car.”

The Journal’s Where’s The Justice? campaign, which mirrors the Chronicle’s Justice for Rebecca campaign, calls for a change in the law to allow killer drivers to be jailed for longer – and provide a mandatory life sentence for those who kill while they are banned from driving, under the influence of drink or drugs or in a stolen vehicle.

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