Biker jailed after Sittingbourne funeral teen death
A man has been jailed for killing a teenager whom he hit with his motorbike during a funeral procession.
The 17-year-old boy was one of about 150 people attending a funeral in Sittingbourne, Kent, on 16 April. The teenager, who was on foot in Tonge Road, suffered head injuries and later died in hospital. A 27-year-old man was also seriously injured. Robert Varrier, 29, was jailed for five years and three months at a hearing on Thursday at Maidstone Crown Court. Varrier, of Limehouse Court, Sittingbourne, drove an off-road motorcycle along the residential street and hit the 17-year-old boy, Kent Police said. The boy was flown to a London hospital where he died three days later. The 27-year-old man from Sittingbourne has since recovered, police said. After the crash, Varrier tried to evade capture and left the scene but he was arrested later the same day. He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing injury by dangerous driving, and was jailed for five years and three months. Varrier was also banned from driving for three years from the date he is released from prison. Det Insp Lee Neiles said: "Robert Varrier undertook a dangerous and appalling level of driving on a residential street among a large group of pedestrians having absolutely no regard for anyone else's safety. "Following the collision his main concern was evading capture and prosecution and he only admitted his guilt several weeks later when he realised the evidence secured and presented was so vast it gave him no choice but to plead guilty."