Man who tried to save Alice Birchall from burning car issues warning to dangerous drivers
The hero who pulled Alice Birchall from a burning car before she died following a horror crash has reminded motorists driving dangerously 'you are driving a weapon'.
James Russell, 47, had been out for a meal with his wife and children when they came across the crash scene on Manston Lane, Leeds. He said: "I thought originally it was joyriders. I pulled up and thought, 'This isn't right.' It was eerily quiet. I got out...I could hear something in the car behind.
He said: "It was instinct to help. You couldn't not....I'm into my cars and you could just see - it was a large amount of devastation in the road. I just knew he had been driving fast. Both cars were facing in the wrong direction and were on the wrong side of the road. I just looked and thought, 'Something catastrophic happened.' It was the scene you see at a crash on the motorway, not a 30mph zone.
The guidelines changed for offences committed on or after June 28, 2022 - ten days after the collision caused by Hopkinson, meaning he was to be sentenced in line with previous guidelines. Mr Russell also spoke about Hopkinson's most recent conviction for speeding, which happened months after Alice's death. He said: "After killing someone I wouldn't be able to drive or get behind the wheel. The drink driving - it was absolutely obscene. What you're seeing come out of court at the moment is not a true reflection .
Mr Russell says he has also seen videos showing people speeding on social media and says it is "abhorrent" that it is not being police. He added: "People just need to be thinking of the consequences of their actions - it's not going to be a quick or good stay at HMP is it? Not any more and I hope not.Mr Russell says he has never had a thank you from Hopkinson or his family for saving his or his daughter's life.
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