A TIRED motorist, who should not have been behind the wheel, killed a 16-year-old after suffering a suspected epileptic "episode".

The victim, Connor Smith, an apprentice joiner, was on his way to work at 7.30am on the morning of January 31 this year when Andrew Williams' Vauxhall Astra ploughed into him as he stood on a pavement.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that 49-year-old Williams, of Bedford Road, Rock Ferry who was on his way home from his shift at Vauxhall Motors, knew he had "petit mal" epilepsy and had not slept for 19-and-a-half hours.

He went through red traffic lights at the junction of Old Chester Road with Bedford Avenue in Rock Ferry in a diagonal direction at between 50 and 59 miles an hour, mounted the pavement and struck concrete bollards and the teenager, who had no chance to get out of the way, said Rob Jones, prosecuting.

The car careered on along the wrong side of the road and eventually become embedded in a sandstone wall.

Williams, who suffered fractures to his cheekbone and pelvis, was trapped in his vehicle and had to be cut free.

Williams, who has no previous convictions, had been advised by his GP in October 2015 not to drive and the following January a neurologist told him to tell the DVLA about his condition but he never did so.

The court heard that his symptoms, which including forgetting what he was doing, lack of awareness and loss of control of his arms, had been increasing and defence lawyer John Rowan said that remorseful Williams accepts he should have told the DVLA and stopped driving.

Williams pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years four months and banned from driving for six years eight months and must take an extended test before he can get back behind the wheel.

The victim's heartbroken mum, Sharon Smith read a moving an impact statement telling of her grief at losing her middle son, leaving many in the crowded courtroom, including the defendant's partner, in tears.

"Connor was the life and soul of our family.

"He was always making people laugh and smile, and you would never see him without a smile on his face.

"He was always full of energy from when he got up in the morning till he went to bed."

She told how he had had his whole life planned out and aimed to run his own business which he would doubtless have done.

"Since the morning of January 31, I feel like I have been serving a life sentence myself.

"It has only been 10 months, how am I going to get through the rest of my life without my baby boy Connor.

"I think of him from the moment I open my eyes until the moment I cry myself to sleep every night.

"There are no words to express the pain I'm feeling and I don't think it will get any easier for me, my heart has been torn apart.

"I constantly run through the last words Connor said as he left for work: 'I love you mum, see you later'."

Mr Jones told the court that it must have been in Williams' knowledge that his epileptic condition "would have been a serious factor if he was driving."

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said that Connor, who did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead in hospital less than two hours later from "catastrophic" injuries "did not really stand any chance of survival at all."

He told smartly-dressed Williams, who showed no emotion, "An epileptic episode was clearly one of the possible explanations for what happened that day and may well be the probable explanation."

He added: "It seems to me likely that fatigue also played a part in this accident.

"It may be that tiredness precipitated an epileptic episode."

Judge Menary said that if his excessive speed was a consequence of the episode: "that type of furious driving of that vehicle, totally out of control, shows clearly the devastating consequences that can result from someone driving while medically unfit to do so."

He described the victim as "a delightful young man …. full of life and promise" and about whom everyone spoke highly.

Mr Rowan said Williams had contemplated suicide since the incident and had "torn himself apart every day" since the crash.

"Andrew Williams is deeply and genuinely remorseful for that which he has done.

"He expressed how much he wants Connor Smith's family to know how sorry he is.

"He wants the family to know the indescribable remorse he has felt for the last 10 months."

Some of the victim’s supporters in court where wearing T-shirts depicting Connor’s photograph with RIP written on them.