A man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years following the horrific death of Mitzi Steady.
The four-year-old girl was killed on February 9, 2015 by an out-of-control truck owned by Matthew Gordon's Grittenham Haulage company.
He was today charged with manslaughter at Bristol Crown Court.
Mechanic Peter Wood – who signed the vehicle off as safe just weeks before the fatal crash – was given a five-year sentence.
Mum and grandmother of Mitzi Steady reveal how fatal Lansdown Lane crash in Bath changed their lives #BathLIVE https://t.co/19rCeBsVTs pic.twitter.com/iymiZto1f5
— Bath Chronicle (@BathChron) January 27, 2017
Mitzi, who has a brother and a sister, died along with three others when the 32-tonne lorry lost control on a hill in Bath, Somerset last February.
She had been holding the hand of grandmother, Margaret Rogers, when she was struck. Brutally injured, Ms Rogers later had to have both legs amputated below the knee. She also suffered a fractured pelvis, hip, arm, ribs, and collarbone.
Her heartbroken mother, Emmajade, spoke movingly outside the court today following the 23-day trial.
“We are devastated that our bright, lively, beautiful, vibrant, outgoing little girl will never have her first day at school, learn to read, have best friends to giggle and play with.”
She added: “We are bereft and emotionally distraught to be without our child. I still find it difficult to sleep and accept that Mitzi has died. That I can no longer hold her and protect her.
“That she had to suffer such a sudden, traumatic, senseless death. That I was not there with her and cannot be with my beautiful girl now.”
On the day of the incident, Mitzi and her grandmother had taken a bus, disembarking and walking to a pedestrian crossing to cross the road.
Ms Rogers told the court she doesn’t remember exactly what happened next but she explained: “I know that in the immediate aftermath I woke up on the roadside and my concerns were that I couldn't get up and go to Mitzi.”
Boss whose truck caused Bath lorry crash is jailed: Little Mitzi Steady was one of four… https://t.co/7CBGtLBymw
— morgansatu (@morgansatu) January 27, 2017
Matthew Gordon, 54, did not meet the necessary repair bills for his fleet of vehicles and also cut corners on safety.
His 30-year-old mechanic Peter Wood gave the lorry the all-clear three weeks before the crash; an accident investigator later described the truck as the worst he had ever inspected.
Stephen Vaughan, 34, Phil Allen, 52, and Robert Parker, 59, also died when the lorry hit a car they were travelling in was hit.
The driver of the 11-year-old truck, Phillip Potter, 20, was cleared of all the charges he faced. He had only been working for the company for a few days when the tragedy took place.
The prosecutor had during the trial described Gordon’s business as "a shambles from start to finish".
Mitzi had a Frozen-themed funeral on February 23 2015, two weeks after her death. Held at Bath Abbey, her parents Andrew and Emmajade, along with her siblings Mycha and Eric, lead hundreds of heartbroken mourners.
Do You Wanna Build A Snowman, Mitzi's favourite song, was played during the ceremony.
