Driver Who Hit Girl, 5, Freed After Just 12 Weeks in Jail

A Cardiff mother says she’s in disbelief after the dangerous driver who mowed down her five-year-old daughter was released from prison after serving just 12 weeks of a 14-month sentence. 😡

Kurtis Dwyer, 35, was caught on shocking CCTV footage as he veered across a road in Grangetown and crashed straight into Casey, who was on her scooter travelling home from school in March 2024.

Despite Casey still not fully recovering from her physical or mental injuries, Dwyer has been released early under the Government’s home detention curfew scheme.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed Dwyer, who has 15 previous convictions for 22 offences, is now tagged and subject to “strict licence conditions” at home.

Casey’s mother Rachel Bancroft told WalesOnline: “It’s hard to get my head around that with all the fight, stress, frustration and sleepless nights with the police and chasing evidence etc that it’s taken nearly a year battling to get justice. Then we finally get justice for him to do seven months in custody and he only does two and a half months.”

She added: “My little girl is still really suffering and I’ve now had to tell her that the bad man who hit her is out of jail. It’s taken me a year of fighting for justice for him to serve less than three months in jail. It’s a disgrace.”

During sentencing in March, Judge Simon Mills told Dwyer: “You admitted to the probation officer that you saw the child and yet you drove off. You’re then seen on CCTV making your way from the car in complete cowardice.”

The case highlights growing concerns about early prisoner releases, with Britain’s most senior police officer Sir Mark Rowley recently criticising the scheme for putting extra pressure on already stretched forces.