A driver who caused the death of a High Wycombe teenager by knocking him off his moped has been jailed for less than two years.

Sam Stephen Cripps, aged 20, has been locked up for 20 months after his careless driving resulted in the death 19-year-old Zaide Sandy on May 5, 2019.

Following a trial in March, Cripps was found guilty of causing death by careless driving by a majority jury of ten to two. The same jury cleared him of a more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving by a majority of 11 to one.

Bucks Free Press: Zaide Sandy died from the injuries he suffered in the crashZaide Sandy died from the injuries he suffered in the crash

Before the crash, which took place on the A355 Amersham Road in Beaconsfield at around 10.50pm, Cripps was seen driving a Vauxhall Corsa before he made contact with the back of Mr Sandy’s moped, causing him to lose control and crash into a lamp post.

Mr Sandy suffered fatal injuries in the collision.

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Prosecutor Alan Blake argued that while Mr Sandy did not know Cripps personally, the two were aware of each other and that there was “beef” between Cripps and a group of teenagers from High Wycombe.

When he gave evidence, Cripps, who was 17 years old when the crash took place, claimed that he was being chased by Mr Sandy and a car containing some of Mr Sandy’s friends. He told the court that he was “boxed in” by the moped and car and had “no choice” other than to make contact with Mr Sandy to avoid crashing himself.

Mr Blake argued that Cripps hit Mr Sandy “deliberately” after the court heard the car containing Mr Sandy’s friends was at least 12 car lengths behind him when the crash took place.

The jury found that the crash was not deliberate when they delivered a majority not guilty verdict on the dangerous driving charge.

The court also heard that after the crash, before calling the police, Cripps returned to the scene with a group of friends. In a Snapchat video taken from the scene, one of Cripps’s friends could be heard laughing.

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When Cripps gave evidence during the trial, he told the court that he “felt sick” after the crash and had been “terrified” when it happened.

Following the guilty verdict in March, Judge Francis Sheridan told Cripps that a prison sentence was “virtually inevitable” and that his actions were “not far short of dangerous driving.”

Sentencing him to 20 months in prison at Aylesbury Crown Court today, Judge Sheridan also banned Cripps from driving for four years and ten months.