Man spotted 'walking' his dog whilst driving up hill

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Rexon Rebidelmo, 19, was four times over the speed limit when his car slammed into the driver side of 81-year-old Charles Burcombe’s car. Mr Burcombe, a market trader, had his 12-year-old grandson in the front passenger seat but took the full brunt of the crash and died at the scene.

A court heard Mr Burcombe’s heartbroken family feel they can no longer enjoy the “magic” of Christmas – as the season is a “permanent reminder” of their loss.

Jailing him for five years and three months at a young offender’s institute, Judge Rajeev Shetty told Rebidelmo his driving on December 20, 2019, was “arrogant and stupid”.

He admitted death by dangerous driving, driving while uninsured and driving without a licence.

In a statement, Mr Burcombe’s daughter Sophie said the accident was “unnecessary and pointless”, and the judge added: “They are plain words but nonetheless powerful.

The daughter continued: “There is no better description of what happened on that day. Your actions have left an already vulnerable family broken and desolate.

She added: “You were using the car as if it was a toy and as if the road was your playground.”

Kingston Crown Court heard Mr Rebidelmo, of Mitcham, London, was told he could wait in a friend’s new courtesy car with the keys in the ignition until he had finished work and could take them to Nandos.

But Mr Rebidelmo – who had only recently turned 17 and failed a driving theory test in October – decided to drive off in the car with another friend.

Prosecutor Hamish Common told the court a black box on the Seat Leon recorded Mr Rebidelmo had been driving on residential streets in Tooting, south London, at speeds of up to 50mph.

The court heard the roads would have been full of children and parents on the school run, as it was the last day of the winter term before the Christmas break.

Just before he collided with Mr Burcombe’s Vauxhall Astra, Mr Rebidelmo overtook a car on Streatham Road, with the driver commenting it felt like he was driving at “90 to 100mph”.

Mr Burcombe was pulling out of a side road when Mr Rebidelmo smashed into him.

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Judge Shetty said this meant Mr Rebidelmo could be placed in the most serious category for sentencing as there had been “persistent very bad driving”.

Judge Shetty said: “No doubt the only thing that stopped you driving to a fuller extent was the presence of other cars and traffic.”

The judge continued: “It appears you were testing out this car and I gather from the speed at which the collision occurred you were doing this on an ever-increasing basis.”

He added: “Mr Burcombe could not have seen your car. You floored the accelerator pedal to go as far as you possibly could in a 20mph built-up urban area where the road surface was wet with standing water.

Ending the scenario, the judge said: “Five seconds before the crash you were speeding at just short of 78.6mph, three seconds prior you had fully depressed the accelerator pedal. At 1.5 seconds before you were perhaps driving at 83mph.”

After the crash, Mr Rebidelmo is said to have “done nothing” to help Mr Burcombe or his grandson – and told witnesses he had only been driving at 40mph.

Additional reporting by Adela Whittingham

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