Hungarian hit-and-run driver jailed in Great Britain

According to Daily Mail, Gábor Hegedűs, 38, ran over the cousins, 12-year-old Helena Kotlarova and 11-year-old Zaneta Krokovaje, on New Year’s Eve. Helena and Zaneta died in the accident. It later turned out that the Hungarian man was let into Great Britain despite having a criminal record. He was jailed for four years.

Gábor Hegedűs is a convicted car thief, what is more, he served five years for gang robbery and aggravated assault in Hungary. Now he is sentenced to jail for running over 12-year-old Helena Kotlarova and 11-year-old Zaneta Krokovaje, driving a Peugeot 807 estate car.

The cousins were walking across the road, they wanted to buy some crisps. Helena died at the scene right after the accident, while Zaneta two days later in hospital.

Hegedűs left the scene and tried to escape justice by falsely reporting that his car had been stolen. Three other Hungarian men tried to help him, all of whom had previous convictions in Hungary.

• Gábor Hegedűs had been convicted of gang robbery, aggravated battery and misuse of a document in February 2000. He spent five years in jail. Then he was accused of car theft and counterfeiting and got a suspended sentence in May 2007.
• János Kalányos (50) was pronounced guilty 11 times in Hungary. He was jailed for three years and eight months for rape in 1999 and another six and half years for homicide in 2004.
• Zoltán Pető (49) had five convictions in Hungary. He was jailed for four years and two months for fraud and forgery in 2010.
• Dávid Orsós (19) was convicted once for breach of the peace. He was the only one who could speak English.

Mark Kellet, prosecuting, said Hegedűs, Orsós and Kalányos had spent the day working together before the hit-and-run happened. They were driving home in two vehicles. Hegedűs later got rid of the car and Orsós – being the only one speaking English – pretended to be Hegedűs and reported the car as stolen.

Police arrested all four of them. It turned out that Hegedűs had shaved off his bread in the hope of disguising his appearance. He was tested positive for cannabis, though it is a matter of debate to what extent he was affected by it during the accident. However, tests clearly showed that he was driving at around 40mph in a 30mph zone. He was trying to stop the car, but could slow it down only to 29mph when he ran over the two girls.

Hegedűs later admitted hitting the girls and causing their death. According to Nicola Gatto, mitigating, he was “truly sorry”. Hegedűs was not only driving carelessly, but also he had no driving licence and did not report the crash. He was found guilty of perverting justice by claiming that his car had been stolen.

Orsós and Pető were also found guilty of perverting justice as they helped hiding the car and reporting it stolen. Orsós was given 20 months, while Pető 25 months in jail. Kalányos was also given 21 months as he provided a false alibi for Hegedűs.

Judge John Potter would like to deport these four men after being released, but he said it would most likely be decided by the Home Office. He closed the case with the following words:

The lives of these two young, happy and kind children were taken away and their family’s bright hopes and expectations for their children’s futures, extinguished. Perhaps, just perhaps, today’s proceedings will help to bring some small sense of closure to those who feel this loss most keenly.

Featured image: facebook / Hegedűs Gábor

Ce: bm

Source: dailymail.co.uk