{"id":95020,"date":"2026-07-31T21:52:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/95020\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:52:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:52:47","slug":"driver-who-carried-grandad-on-car-roof-for-a-mile-after-fatal-hit-and-run-in-gillingham-jailed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/95020\/","title":{"rendered":"Driver who carried grandad on car roof for a mile after fatal hit-and-run in Gillingham jailed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dangerous driver who carried a grandfather on the roof of his Mercedes for more than a mile after a fatal hit-and-run has been jailed.<\/p>\n

Dental surgeon Tom Wallace died <\/a>on the A289 Gads Hill in Gillingham at around 12.10pm on December 29 last year.<\/p>\n

Albert Matraxhiu, of Orange Hill, Edgware, pleaded guilty to causing the 89-year-old\u2019s death<\/a> by dangerous driving on February 2 at Maidstone Crown Court.<\/p>\n

He had previously admitted driving without insurance, without a licence, failing to stop, failing to report an accident, and perverting the course of justice.<\/p>\n

At a hearing today (July 31) at the same court, the 29-year-old was jailed for a total of nine years and 10 months.<\/p>\n

Matraxhiu will be disqualified from driving for six years after his release and will need to take an extended driving test.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, his co-defendant Erald Paci, 29, of Five Way Court, Chatham, was sentenced to 15 months for perverting the course of justice.<\/p>\n

\"Tom\"TomTom Wallace died following the hit-and-run on December 29. Picture: Kent Police<\/p>\n

Mr Wallace, a dad-of-three who worked in the Medway Towns all his working life, was struck by Matraxhiu\u2019s Mercedes estate near the junction of Gads Hill and Waterside Lane at the end of last year.<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Michael Shilliday said that Mr Wallace was crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing, despite the lights being green for vehicles.<\/p>\n

However, a driver of a Sainsbury’s delivery van, which was overtaken by Matraxhiu at “considerable speed”, said there was “good time to see the pedestrian” even if driving fast.<\/p>\n

Mr Shilliday said that the vehicle was estimated to have been speeding at 76.5mph in a 40mph road when it hit Mr Wallace.<\/p>\n

The pensioner was then “thrown into the air and landed on the roof”.<\/p>\n

He was carried on top of the vehicle for one and a half miles before he was found fatally injured in nearby Grange Road.<\/p>\n

\"Albert\"AlbertAlbert Matraxhiu pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. Picture: UKNIP\"Erald\"EraldErald Paci was charged with perverting the course of justice. Picture: UKNIP<\/p>\n

A postman and nearby resident rushed to Mr Wallace\u2019s aid. An ambulance crew arrived to treat him, but he was later pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

The court heard that Matraxhiu, who had fled to Sheffield following the crash, then ran a red light before coming to a stop.<\/p>\n

The men, who are both Albanian nationals, abandoned the car in Eastcourt Lane after it hit Mr Wallace, as well as taking the number plates from it, before leaving the area on foot.<\/p>\n

The court heard that the Mercedes was significantly damaged, with the windscreen entirely shattered, the bonnet dented and the sunroof smashed.<\/p>\n

The two men were arrested the same night, after Paci called the police appeals line to admit to being the passenger in the car.<\/p>\n

Mr Shilliday told the court that Paci gave a full interview to the police and claimed to have told Matraxhiu to “slow down” and “screamed stop” when he saw Mr Wallace.<\/p>\n

Mr Wallace\u2019s family previously paid tribute<\/a> to the \u201crespected and loved\u201d dad-of-three, grandfather-of-four and a recent great-grandad who had been married for 63 years.<\/p>\n

\"Residents\"ResidentsResidents and a postman rushed to Mr Wallace\u2019s aid in Grange Road, Gillingham\"Floral\"FloralFloral tributes were left in Grange Road, Gillingham<\/p>\n

Mr Shilliday read out a victim impact statement on behalf of Mr Wallace\u2019s wife Angela. He read: “We built a life side by side and together we built the foundations of a family.<\/p>\n

“Family meant everything to Tom, and in an instant these people knocked out a foundation of that family.<\/p>\n

“Tom was a good man. He would help anybody. He did not deserve this end.”<\/p>\n

He added: “Driving around with him on the roof and leaving him in a country lane was cowardly. It was cruel and completely unforgivable.<\/p>\n

“Every time we leave our house we have to pass the crossing, and when we visit the farm shop we pass where his body was dumped.”<\/p>\n

His family said they have since planted snowdrops at the site where Mr Wallace died.<\/p>\n

\"It\"ItIt sparked a huge emergency service response\"Matraxhiu\"MatraxhiuMatraxhiu was jailed for a total of nine years and 10 months. Picture: Kent Police<\/p>\n

Mitigating on behalf of Matraxhiu, Adele Pullarp said he had no previous convictions and was of previous good character.<\/p>\n

She explained that although the construction worker did not have a valid UK driving licence, he did have an Albanian one.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cHe has expressed his deep remorse for his actions. Not only for his driving but lack of courage to stop. He was in shock and panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Pullarp told the court the defendant was \u201cdeeply sorry\u201d and knows he will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

Judge Julian Smith was told that his co-defendant Paci had four previous convictions for 16 offences including driving and drug-related crimes.<\/p>\n

\"The\"TheThe Strand Roundabout in Gillingham was cordoned off<\/p>\n

Mitigating, Craig Evans, said the passenger called the police within 24 hours following the incident and made full admissions to help their inquiries.<\/p>\n

He said this showed his \u201cdeep regret\u201c for his \u201cpoor decision-making\u201d at the roadside.<\/p>\n

Judge Smith said: \u201cThis is not an incident that resulted in a mere accident. Whatever punishment cannot and will not mitigate that loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the driving as \u201caggressive and excessively fast\u201d and Matraxhiu was deliberately ignoring the rules of the road.<\/p>\n

He said they then drove with Mr Wallace on the roof in a \u201cprecarious and terrifying\u201d position.<\/p>\n

Judge Smith added: \u201cThe extraordinary circumstances of his death, his family struggle to move forward. His legacy is his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking outside court, senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Zoe Wilczek said: \u201cMatraxhiu\u2019s dangerous and amoral actions have taken a man\u2019s life and shocked the local community.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018His deliberate and calculated attempts to evade capture and avoid facing the consequences of his actions are evidence of his poor substance of character, and we are satisfied he is facing a long time behind bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Wallace was much-loved and deeply respected by his family and the community, and we hope today’s sentence brings a sense of justice to all that knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident sparked a major emergency services response with more than 20 police, fire and ambulance vehicles sent to the scene, as well as the air ambulance and police chopper.<\/p>\n

Pier Road was closed between The Strand and Lower Rainham Road, as was Yokosuka Way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A dangerous driver who carried a grandfather on the roof of his Mercedes for more than a mile…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[141,61,309,355,1118,5,6],"class_list":["post-95020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-courts","tag-crime","tag-kent","tag-medway","tag-syndicate","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117016815579996021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}