Barrister’s son jailed for seven years for killing university student Anisha Vidal-Garner in Brixton Hill hit-and-run

Quincy Anyiam, 27, was also banned from driving for a total of 11 years 
Philosophy and Spanish undergraduate Anisha Vidal-Garner was knocked down as she stepped off the pavement on Brixton Hill in February
Met Police
David Child27 July 2020

The son of a barrister has been jailed for seven years for killing a university student in a hit-and-run during a police chase in south London earlier this year.

Quincy Anyiam, 27, struck pedestrian Anisha Vidal-Garner in his black Mercedes on Brixton Hill in February after speeding off from officers who had signalled for him to stop.

As the 20-year-old philosophy and Spanish undergraduate lay on the road fatally injured having been thrown into the air like a “rag doll”, Anyiam kept driving and abandoned his damaged car around a mile away, the Old Bailey heard.

Ms Vidal-Garner’s mother Mandy Garner told the court in an emotional victim impact statement: “We simply adored her and we will miss her forever.

“Every day I wake up hoping it has not happened and have to relive that initial feeling of shock and devastation… just seeing her face and hearing her voice made the world a better place.”

She added of Ms Vidal-Garner’s sisters, aged 15 and 17, and her 10-year-old brother: “Their whole world has been shattered and we have to rebuild it in some kind of way.”

Anyiam, who refused to appear at the Old Bailey for his sentencing citing “psychological reasons”, was also banned from driving for a total of 11 years by judge Wendy Joseph QC.

The court heard that on February 19, officers in an unmarked van had been undertaken by Anyiam, who appeared to slow down when they activated their blue lights at around 9.45pm.

But as an officer went to exit the vehicle, he raced off, breaking red traffic lights and dangerously driving on the wrong side of the carriageway reaching speeds of around 62mph before hitting Ms Vidal-Garner as she crossed the road, the Old Bailey heard.

Ms Vidal-Garner had been walking slightly ahead of her boyfriend and a friend when she was hit by Anyiam.

She died at the scene at around 10.20pm from multiple traumatic injuries.

Two days after the crash, Anyiam, whose father is a barrister, handed himself in to a police station and was charged.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and dangerous driving in March.

Ms Vidal-Garner’s boyfriend Rory Salters told the court he had suffered depression and post-traumatic stress episodes after seeing his partner killed in front of him.

He said in a statement: “Anisha was a beam of light in my life and I miss her every minute of every day.

“She was a beautiful, intelligent and compassionate person with the best sense of humour and she always filled my life with joy.

“Seeing her die in front of my eyes… has been burned in my brain.”

In her remarks describing the police pursuit, the judge said: “Before the accident, the defendant drove at excessive, at times grossly excessive, speeds through areas where there were likely to be many pedestrians and other road users.

“His course of driving included overtaking and undertaking, contravening traffic lights and driving on the wrong side of the carriageway.

“I cannot accept his description to police of this as an ‘error of judgment’… in my view it amounts to a deliberate decision to ignore, or a flagrant disregard for, the rules of the road and an apparent disregard for the great dangers being caused to others.”

Anyiam, from Oxted, Surrey, and currently at HMP High Down in Surrey, was sentenced in his absence after refusing to attend court.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley said he had shown “not a shred of remorse for this family by his actions”, adding: “There is no evidence before this court he is unfit to attend.”

The judge added that aggravating factors included Anyiam’s determination to evade police, his failure to stop after the crash, his continued dangerous driving after the crash, and his criminal record of 10 convictions for 22 offences.

In 2016, Anyiam was disqualified from driving for 14 months after being caught driving with cannabis in his system, the court heard.