Bassoonist killer driver jailed

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An unlicensed driver who killed a bassoonist in a hit-and-run incident has been jailed for three years.

Professor Brian Wightman, 65, who was due to retire from the English National Opera, died hours after his car was hit in Finchley, north London, last July.

Gino Mari was speeding at 65mph in a 30mph zone and hit the musician at the junction of Squires Lane and Avondale Road, Harrow Crown Court heard.

Mari, 24, of Dollis Hill, was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

Following the crash Mari, who admitted drinking two pints of beer and a glass of red wine, glanced around the scene before leaving, the court heard.

The impact swung Mr Wightman's Vauxhall Carlton round, lifted it off its rear wheels and slammed it into a lamppost on the other side of the road.

'Miracle result'

He was hurled from his vehicle and suffered severe head injuries. He was slightly over the drink-driving limit and was not wearing a seat-belt at the time of the collision.

Sentencing Mari, Judge Ronald Moss said: "When you left your car and decided to walk away you must have been aware that the other car at least... must have been damaged. It was a miracle you weren't killed."

Mari was given a concurrent four-month period for breaching his suspended sentence, banned from driving for five years and ordered to take an extended driving test.

Mr Wightman played for the National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and was a founding member of the London Concert Orchestra and Nash Ensemble.

He was also a professor of Bassoon at Trinity College of Music in London and had played 41 seasons at the ENO.

Following the sentencing Mr Wightman's daughter Lucinda Wightman, 35, said her father was a "colourful and slightly eccentric character" who was a "wonderful father and friend".

"I desperately hope that Mr Mari is able to learn from this tragic event," she said.