- John Gribben was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 after mother-of-three Joan Price was killed instantly in the horror crash
- Prosecutors said Gribben had used ‘Ayrshire road as a racetrack’ and he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving
- He was banned from driving for 12 years, but his legal bid to overturn disqualification six years early was refused by judge
A driver who killed a much-loved grandmother after racing at up to 140mph has failed in a bid to get his licence back early.
John Gribben was back in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday having been jailed for six years there in 2018.
The 26-year-old was behind the wheel of an Audi A3 when he and Logan Knox drove along the A77 near Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire, before tragedy struck in January 2017.
Joan Price had been returning from brass band practice with a friend when Knox lost control of his powerful Volkswagen Golf GTI ploughing head on into the 59-year-old’s Nissan Pulsar.
The mother-of-three, a support worker of Troon, Ayrshire, died instantly.
John Gribben was back in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow in his failed attempt to regain his driving licence
Crash victim Joan Price, 59, had been returning from brass band practice when tragedy struck
Gribben was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving for his part in what happened.
He was also guilty of further high speed driving just two months after the fatal crash.
Prosecutors described how Gribben had used ‘Ayrshire road as a racetrack’.
As well as the jail-term, Judge Sean Murphy KC also banned him from the road for 12 years.
Gribben, of Ayr, returned to court yesterday aiming to cut the disqualification six years early.
His lawyer Bob Mitchell said he was ‘ a different man’, which included donating his kidney to his sick mother, had stayed out of bother since being freed early from prison and had set up his own business.
The prosecution had opposed the bid.
Giving his verdict, Judge Murphy told Gribben: ‘The offences here are amongst the worst I have seen in my career
‘I have no doubt whatsoever that, in most other areas, you are a young man with a commendable character.’
He said he had to consider all the circumstances including Gribben’s dangerous driving even after Ms Price’s death.
The judge: ‘In my view, it would not be appropriate to restore the licence at this time, so, therefore, the application is refused.’
Knox was jailed for five years and four months in 2017 after he pleaded guilty to the same crime as Gribben at a separate hearing.
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