Ryan Saltern: St Teath hit and run driver left man to die

A driver left a man to die after hitting him on a country road late at night, a court heard.

Wayne Shilling, 39, of St Teath, admitted failing to stop and failing to report an accident near the village of St Teath in north Cornwall.

He was driving home from a carnival in the village when he hit Ryan Saltern, who was lying on the road and later died.

Shilling was jailed for four months, suspended for a year, by magistrates.

The court heard father-of-one Mr Saltern and Shilling had been to the St Teath carnival on 28 July 2019 and both had been drinking.

Mr Saltern, from St Teath, was making his way to a party soon after midnight and walking with friends along the single track B3267 when he lay down in the road, magistrates heard.

Shilling, who had been drinking at the bar at the carnival and according to one witness was "away with the fairies", hit Mr Saltern on his way home.

Shilling told police he "felt a slight bang" but did not realise he had hit anyone.

The collision had punctured his car's radiator, the court was told.

Another vehicle also hit Mr Saltern moments after and he was later found dead on the road by emergency services.

Police were only told of Shilling's involvement 36 hours after the crash by a member of his family.

Magistrates in Bodmin called it a "tragic and sad case" and said "nothing the bench can do or say can compensate for the distress caused" to Mr Saltern's family.

"The damage to your car was so severe that you must have been aware that a collision had taken place," they said.

Shilling was also disqualified from driving for 12 months, given an evening curfew for four months and ordered to pay a £207 victim surcharge and prosecution costs.