A car owner who had dodgy tires is in jail for causing a fatal accident… even though he wasn’t driving the vehicle at that time

  • Henry Reynolds was sitting in the passenger seat of a Mercedes saloon, while TJ Sam Quirke drove.
  • It was unable to control its traction and it ‘fishtail’, causing tyres to slip on the roads. The vehicle crashed into another car head-on
  • Winston Chau (36), who was the driver of the other vehicle, succumbed to his injuries on the spot. Cam, 59 suffered serious life-altering injuries.
  • Reynolds was sentenced to two-years and six months in prison for causing the death of another driver. This landmark case is a turning point. 










A car owner failed to take the warning about dangerously worn tyres and caused the death of another driver.

Henry Reynolds was in front of the Mercedes’ powerful Mercedes sedan while his friend, a drunk driver, was driving. This case is a landmark.

The car became ‘fishtailed” in the rain, which means that the worn back tires lost their grip and drove head-on into Winston Chau’s car, 36. Cam, now 59 years old, sustained life-altering injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reynolds, 31, pleaded guilty to helping and abetting death by dangerous driving. He also pled guilty to causing serious injuries. A judge refused to sentence Reynolds, because there was no guideline for this case.

Before Judge Michael Kay QC sentenced Barristers to a term of 30 months in jail, they could not find any precedents.

His family said that Reynolds was’relieved’ and will be sentenced to time, but it was too mild. Lee (his brother), a 42 year old IT engineer stated that Reynolds is responsible for the death of his brother. With good behavior, he’ll only be in the house for 15 months. It will have a lasting impact on us.

The landmark case was brought against Henry Reynolds (pictured), who was in the front passenger seat of his powerful Mercedes saloon in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, while a drunk friend was driving

Henry Reynolds was charged with the landmark crime (pictured), for being in his front passenger seat in his Mercedes saloon, Redbourn. Hertfordshire. A friend of his was driving.

“He was not the driver, but he was responsible to that car. He understood that their tyres would soon expire.

Reynolds was a father-of-two who had lost his job and spent the day with TJ Sam Quirke (a lorry driver) in May 2018. They went out to get food.

Redbourn (Hertfordshire) CCTV footage showed the car’s back sliding while it was going around a circle.

Quirke was driving at a speed of over 65 mph in a 30-mph zone. He then veered into the other lane. It was doing 43 to 53 mph at the time it crashed into the Honda Civic, which had the Chaus in its interior.

He was saved by emergency personnel at easyJet’s Luton Base, his mother being a cleaner.

CCTV footage from Redbourn, Hertfordshire, showed the back of the car (pictured) sliding as it went around a roundabout

Redbourn (Hertfordshire) CCTV footage showed the back end of the car sliding around a turnabout.

St Albans Crown Court heard that the vehicle was subject to an MoT for three months. Reynolds, London Colney, received a warning about the tire tread nearing the limit.

However, he didn’t make any changes and drove an additional 6,726 miles to the accident site.

Quirke (29 years old) was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment in November 2013 after he admitted to causing death through dangerous driving and other offenses.

Professor Sally Kyd of the University of Leicester was the head of the law department. He claimed that an 1861 Act permitted the judge to sentence the offender to the same maximum punishment as if the accused had committed the crime, and in this instance, up to 14 years imprisonment.

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