Driver who killed teen brother in Europa Way crash had no licence

Valer Kvec had pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to causing the death of 18-year-old Michael Kvec in Europa Way at Greys Mallory by dangerous driving and while unlicensed.

Judge Alan Parker also banned Kvec, 31, of Duddeston Drive, Saltley, Birmingham from driving for ten years.

The fatal crash took place as Kvec was driving a Honda Accord along Europa Way towards the M40 at about 8pm on December 6, with Michael next to him and two women, his sister-in-law and a female cousin, in the rear.

The defendant attempted to overtake a car in front and a lorry and this led to his car colliding with an oncoming Ford Mondeo and spinning into the lorry.

Both cars were wrecked in the crash.

Stephen Baker, the driver of the Mondeo, had only minor injuries, and the foreign lorry driver was unhurt.

But Michael was crushed against the dashboard of the Honda and died instantly, and Kvec suffered fractures to his leg and wrist, broken ribs and a neck injury.

Both women had life-threatening injuries with Nela Harna having brain trauma, and she was in hospital for three months, during which she was in a coma for a considerable period; and Sirbeanka-Aurica Angel’s injuries included broken ankles and a broken femur, and she was detained for some weeks.

After being arrested in hospital, Kvec, who listened to the case with the help of a Romanian interpreter, claimed the lorry had been ‘swinging’ – but no-one else saw that.

He had no UK driving licence, and enquiries revealed he did not have a valid Romanian one either, said prosecutor Madhu Rai.

Zaheer Afzal, defending, said: “It was poor in that he drove too slowly and stayed out in the lane for far too long, not realising the trajectory of the road was to include a bend.

“Having made to overtake the lorry at a slow speed, and observing the car coming round the bend, he reacted by putting his foot down on the accelerator rather than braking. It was an instantaneous reaction.

“He is a man whose regret and remorse is entirely genuine, and he accepts full responsibility for the accident.”

Jailing Kvec, Judge Parker told him: “I am satisfied you had become frustrated at following the lorry which was maintaining its own speed limit of 40mph. It is no mitigation that you did not know the road; you should never have begun to overtake at all on that stretch of road in those circumstances.”