Specialist cobbler was on his way to but leather when he was mowed down

A hit-and-run driver who sped off after killing a Wembley father while overtaking a bus on the wrong side of the road has been jailed for eight years.

Kelvin Peart, 29, from east London, broke down in tears, yelling: “I can’t do it your honour! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” after he was sentenced for causing the death of Pragji Chudasama by dangerous driving.

The 63-year-old, who lived Victoria Avenue, died two days after he was struck while crossing Balls Pond Road, Islington, on February 16 this year.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard the father-of-two was a specialist cobbler who made footwear for theatre and had been travelling to buy leather when he was knocked down.

Witnesses told police that Mr Chudasama was thrown on to the bonnet and windscreen of the car before somersaulting through the air and hitting a lamppost at the side of the road.

Peart ‘panicked’ following the crash, jumping a red light and staying in the wrong lane until being forced to swerve back in to avoid a head-on collision with another bus.

He later abandoned the Vauxhall Astra before being traced to his home address, barely an hour after the crash. 16.

His girlfriend initially told police he was not home, with Peart appearing at the door only after officers threatened to force their way in.

Smoking a cannabis joint, he told them ‘it was only a knock.’

‘It was just an accident - I was going to hand myself in,’ he added.

In a subsequent police interview, he refused to answer questions about the crash.

Peart, who has a string of criminal convictions, was also disqualified from driving for five years after he admitted causing death by dangerous driving.