THE man who caused the death of a Spanish woman in Whitchurch has avoided jail after her family issued a plea to spare him.

Jake Barton, 24 and from Stafford, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving last month for the incident that killed his 27-year-old girlfriend Laura Carrillo-Sanchez in October 2023 on the A41 in Prees.

Laura died at the scene when she was thrown off Barton’s motorcycle into the path of an oncoming Volkswagen Golf after he failed to brake in time while riding from Whitchurch to Newport, before colliding with a Toyota Hilux pick-up truck.

READ MORE: Motorbike passenger dies in Whitchurch crash

At his sentencing at Telford Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 15, the court heard a plea from Jaime Carillo, on behalf of his parents, for Barton not to be sent to prison.

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He said: “We do not want Jake to go to prison.

“Even though it broke our hearts, Jake going to prison wouldn’t alleviate our pain but would only add to the heartache.

“We don’t feel he is a criminal and has been punished enough by the accident.

“He loved our sister, we know that, and there is no greater punishment for him than watching my sister die and there is no need for another life to be over.

“We want him to have the chance to work towards some kind of redemption.”

In a prior statement, Mr Carillo also described his Madrid-born sister, who was a pastry chef, as a ‘spreader of joy who loved ice hockey, travelling and wanted to be a researcher’.

He said that ‘she was dearly missed and we are all devastated by her accident’.

In mitigation, Adrian Roberts told District Judge Ian Barnes that his client was struggling to come to terms with the accident.

He added: “He and Laura had been working together for eight months and they spent a lot of time together and he is clearly devastated by what happened.

“He certainly isn’t the man that he was.”

Mr Roberts added that his client had been working with probation since his arrest and that the pre-sentence report recommended that continued.

District Judge Barnes said: “This is a desperate tragic case for all involved, none more so than Laura’s family and friends and they have my deepest sympathies.

“You didn’t mean to cause her harm but people on the roads have a responsibility for the safety of others.

“It’s clear that Laura was loved and that her joy was infectious.

“But the family admirably recognise they can’t change this and they don’t want you punished anymore that you have.

“It is commendable in their darkest times that they understand the impact on you and they want you to do something positive with your life, giving back to the community.”

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Barton was given a nine-month jail sentence, reduced to 26 weeks for his early guilty plea, which was suspended for 18 months.

He was also given 20 rehabilitation activity days and 250 hours of unpaid work and will have to take an extensive driving test once his 18-month disqualification ends.

However, the judge told him that a non-related suspended sentence breach would be sent to Shrewsbury Crown Court to decide whether to prosecute.