26 January 2023 , 13:17
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A 'criminally dangerous' drink driver who killed a woman celebrating her birthday when he crashed into a rickshaw has been given added time on his sentence.
Luis Balcazar Soto, 25, was driving without a licence and was twice the legal drink-drive limit on July 10 when he collided with the pedicab in Elephant and Castle, London, throwing 31-year-old Sophie Strickland onto the road.
She died from her injuries. Rickshaw driver Tanvir Ahmed was also seriously injured and left with life changing injuries, reports Hull Live.
Soto had initially been jailed for nine years and nine months last year after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He was also found guilty of acting in breach of a restraining order by seeing his former partner and breaching a suspended sentence.
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But his time behind bars has now been increased by three years after his sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General as Unduly Lenient.
Sophie Strickland, 31, was a passenger in the rickshaw and died in the collision last year (PA)Soto's original sentence was quashed and substituted yesterday by a total sentence of 12 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.
The Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC MP said: "Today all my thoughts are with the family and friends of Sophie Strickland, whose life was so tragically cut short by the criminally dangerous driving of Luis Fernando Balcazar Soto.
"I want to pay tribute to Sophie’s family, who have shown immense strength and courage during such a desperately difficult time. I referred this case to the Court of Appeal and chose to personally present it because I believed the original sentence was Unduly Lenient.
"I’m pleased that the court has ordered Luis Fernando Balcazar Soto serve a prison term which is a more appropriate reflection of the dreadful harm that he has caused."
The original trial heard how Soto was described by witnesses as "driving like a madman" as he hit speeds of up to 70mph on the night of the collision.
After hitting the rickshaw he attempted to run from the scene but was stopped from escaping by members of the public, who he threatened to punch and offered money to let him go.
Ms Strickland's father, Fred Strickland, told in a statement how he last saw his daughter at Newport bus station as she made her way to London to celebrate her birthday
"My heart is broken and I will never be the same without her," he said.