Parents of Chinese student killed by UK driver reject not-guilty verdict

The parents of a Chinese girl who was killed in a traffic accident in the UK last year have rejected the judge's decision earlier this month to withdraw the case from the jury's consideration and direct a verdict of not guilty to the defendant.

Miao Xizhu, a 26-year-old postgraduate student at Nottingham Trent University, died from her injuries after being run down by Kirsten Ellis, 24, in Burton, England, on October 8, 2016.

Ellis fled the accident scene, driving her damaged BMW with a shattered windscreen some 30 miles before handing herself in. She explained her move to leave the crash site by saying that she "panicked" and was in a state of shock.

A police car near the accident scene.

Pedestrians came to Miao’s aid immediately and an ambulance was called to transport her to the Queen’s Medical Center but serious chest and head injuries claimed her life.

Ellis, who was on trial for the death of Miao by careless driving, had been found to have taken cocaine a few nights before the crash.

She admitted to failing to stop after the accident but pleaded not guilty to the allegations, noting that she was not speeding at the time, and arguing that she did not spot Miao before the collision.

Judge John Burgess from Nottingham Crown Court sentenced Ellis to 12 weeks behind bars, suspended for 12 months, and revoked her driving license for 12 months.

"The evidence as a whole does not exclude the possibility that Helen (the Western name Miao went by) stepped out into the path of the defendant's motor car, giving her no chance to react, whether she was affected by cocaine or not," Burgess argued when handing down the ruling on February 16.

The Nottingham Trent University.

Citing lack of evidence, eyewitnesses and surveillance footage at the time of the accident and "no acceptance by the defendant that she was responsible for the collision", the judge withdrew the case from the jury's consideration.

Chinese news portal HaiwaiNet reported that Miao's parents have dismissed the verdict as unacceptable, and expressed shock at the fact that the offender made no apology to them.

They also discredited a re-enactment of the accident during investigation, arguing that there was no rain when the incident happened and the person who pretended to be Miao was taller than their daughter.

The ruling courted dissatisfaction on Chinese social media as well.

“[I] don’t understand the British law. Who can explain [it] to us? Is there no blame for killing?" an Internet user with the moniker ZuLongXi asked.

“How did the ruling convince the public?” Jiujizhili questioned.

(CGTN)