7:30am Saturday 25th October 2008
By Julian Robinson
A MAN whose dangerous driving caused the death of his girlfriend is being sued by her children.
Nearly a decade after Denise Avery was killed in an accident on the Totton bypass, solicitors acting on behalf of her estate are asking for damages of up to £500,000.
The driver of the car involved in the fatal smash has told of his sorrow for the four children she left behind – including two of his own – and even said he hoped a settlement would give them a brighter future.
John Gover was behind the wheel of a Ford Sierra when it slammed in to metal fencing on the A35.
Denise, 24, was a front seat passenger in the vehicle, which was being driven with no headlights close to midnight on May 26 1999. She died at the scene.
A year later Gover was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at Winchester Crown Court.
Now the estate of Denise Avery is claiming between £100,000 and £500,000 in damages on behalf of the four children who were left motherless.
Mr Gover, now 33 and living in Cadland Park, Holbury, said: “I don’t want to upset them any more.
“It is in the kids’ interest.
“If they get something towards themselves and some sort of help and it is due, then so be it.
“They are the ones who suffered. They have lost a mother and are the victims of a crime.”
“I know it is not going to change much – they have to live with what happened too. But if it helps them in anyway, then great. I think about what happened every day. You never forget about it.”
Mr Gover served ten months of his two-year sentence and also spent a year recovering from injuries he sustained during the smash.
The writ, brought under the Fatal Accident Act 1976, states: “The accident and the deceased’s consequential death were caused by the negligence of the defendant. Prior to her death, the deceased cared and financially provided for her said dependants and, but for her death, would have continued to do so.”
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