Bride-to-be, 28, killed by speeding driver while holding hands with fiancé as partner says ‘she never heard my vows’
A 28-YEAR-OLD bride-to-be was killed in a horror crash after a speeding driver mowed her down as she walked with her fiancé.
Vanessa Sagnay de la Bastida, also known as Charlotte, was holding hands with her fiancé Michael Williams as they walked home near Wandsworth Bridge in London on March 16 2022.
Octavian Cadar, 39, drove towards them at about 55mph, more than double the 20mph speed limit, causing the terrified couple to become separated as they fled.
Charlotte was hit before she reached the pavement, causing her to somersault in the air and land on a railing and sign post.
She suffered a catastrophic head injury and died at the scene.
Cadar was shouting angrily after the crash as the 28-year-old lay dying on her pavement, a court heard.
He was convicted at trial of causing death by dangerous driving, and at Southwark crown court on Thursday he was jailed for 10 years.
Michael told the court he and Charlotte were making plans for their wedding when she died and he held back tears as he recalled them practising their first dance in the kitchen.
In a powerful victim impact statement, Michael broke down as he revealed he ended up reading his wedding vows at Charlotte’s funeral, and he now struggles with suicidal thoughts.
Michael said: “What was my worst nightmare is now my reality. At least in my nightmares I am with Charlotte again.
“My life with Charlotte was wonderful, she was the best friend I ever had.
“How could I possibly explain who Charlotte was, what she meant to me, and everything that was lost when she was killed?
“She was half of me. I am less than a person without her.
“Charlotte never got to hear what I wrote in my wedding vows. Instead I read them at her funeral.”
He added: “She had a magical ability to support people in just the way they needed.
“The world is immeasurably worse off without her.”
He called the tragedy preventable, and said: “No one should have the power to kill just to drive faster.
“Octavian Cadar valued speeding in a sports car more than he valued our lives.”
Charlotte studied psychology at the University of St Andrews and had a master’s degree from King’s College London.
She was also the daughter of Ecuadorian politician Carlos Sagnay de la Bastida.
‘EMPTY VESSEL’
Her mother Jeanne, paid tribute to her daughter, a clinical psychologist on the cusp of studying for a doctorate, and said family and friends have been left “devastated”.
“I have become an empty vessel, I feel I have no skin and everything hurts me”, she said.
On her grief and loss, she said she felt as if an atomic bomb had exploded, leaving her struggling to breathe “toxic air”.
Charlotte and Michael were walking hand-in-hand towards their home after a session at the gym when the crash happened, at around 10.06pm on March 16, 2022.
Cadar, from Bexley, southeast London, was on his way to visit his girlfriend and had just left a McDonald’s drive-thru prior to the crash.
As the speeding car approached, Michael dashed to the central reservation while Charlotte attempted to retreat to the pavement.
He recalled at the trial that they had checked the coast was clear before starting to cross Bridgend Road, before they heard a “loud revving sound of a car accelerating and backfiring”.
“The car was coming toward me startlingly fast. I think it was in the centre lane”, he said.
“At first I froze. I was so confused. And then I took a couple of steps forward to get towards the central reservation.”
Michael broke down as he described the moment he realised that his fiancee was not with him, saying: “I was not holding her hand anymore.”
Charlotte never got to hear what I wrote in my wedding vows. Instead I read them at her funeral.”
Michael Williams
An off-duty doctor made efforts to save her life, but she was declared dead around 13 minutes after being struck by the car.
Cadar, a father-of-one, accused the couple of “messing around in the road” before the crash, but he later accepted that was not true.
Michael described Cadar as “shouting” and “angry”, and having said at the time: “Why did you freeze? Why didn’t you keep walking?”.
The court heard Cadar has a previous conviction for speeding from 2018, when he was fined and given six penalty points on his licence.
Judge Dhir banned him from driving on Thursday for the next 10-years-and-eight months, and must pass an advanced test to regain his driving licence.
She also said he will serve up to two-thirds of the 10-year prison term in custody.