A SPEEDING driver was rushing back to the casino to put on another bet when he killed a father-of-three in a hit and run crash on a pedestrian crossing.

Yesterday chef Peter Chen, 40, admitted causing Ray Tutton’s death by dangerous driving and failing to stop after the collision on Christmas Eve last year.

Bournemouth Crown Court head how Chen, a Malaysian father-of-two who lived at St Mary’s Road, Poole, had been travelling at up to 50 mph along Poole Road.

Prosecuting, Martin Booth said Mr Tutton and his wife Liz had been walking a short distance to their home following a night out at the Branksome Railway Hotel when the early morning tragedy happened.

“Raymond Tutton was slightly in front of his wife and she has described seeing headlights in the distance.

“In a split second her husband was no longer there.

“She saw what she thought was a bin liner in the air and then she realised it was the body of her husband, about 33 metres away from the crossing.”

A paramedic travelling in the opposite direction to Chen’s Nissan Micra stopped to give first-aid to Mr Tutton, 46, who was still breathing. But his death was confirmed a short time later at Poole Hospital.

Chen drove on but doormen Mike Coombes and Jamie Lindsay gave chase after spotting his damaged car driving towards Bournemouth.

Mr Booth added: “When they asked him to get out and what had happened he replied: ‘I hit someone in Poole; I drove off.’ “They detained Chen until police arrived.

When asked about his movements that night, Chen told officers he had been to a casino, spent his money and gone back home to get more funds.

Mr Booth said: “He was in a rush to get back to the casino to gamble further; he told police he was anxious to get there.” When asked what speed he had been travelling at when he collided with Mr Tutton, Chen, who had already six penalty points on his licence for speeding, replied that he was driving at between 50 and 60mph in a 30 mph zone.

Defending Chen, Robert Grey said: “He didn’t notice the light was on red until he was too close; he panicked and was scared. He wasn’t paying enough attention and wishes he could turn the clock back.

“Mr Chen recognises the deep upset he has caused to Mr Tutton’s family and has lost his job and home. His wife and two children have moved to Manchester.”

Jailing Chen for three years and four months, Judge Samuel Wiggs told him: “You were in such a hurry to get back to the casino that, on a road you must have been familiar with, you completely failed to see the light was red.

“You took the life of a hard-working family man and it doesn’t need me to go through the anguish that will have caused those close to him.

“They had no idea that the happy evening was going to turn out so tragically – you were responsible for that.”

Chen was banned from driving for five years, his licence was endorsed and he will not be able to get behind the wheel again until he has passed an extended driving test.

Speaking after the sentence, tearful Mrs Tutton said: “It doesn’t seem like a long time but even if the maximum sentence of 14 years had been imposed it wouldn’t have been enough. Nothing will bring Ray back.

“I know he didn’t go out to do what he did that night; in some ways it would have been more understandable if it had been a teenager who had been drinking; not a 40-yaer-old man who was stone-cold sober and all because of his gambling habit. Reliving it all again in court was very hard.”

She thanked Mr Coombes and Mr Lindsay for apprehending Chen, adding: “Without their help he may never have been traced.”

'It's not really justice'

THE two men who chased and caught Peter Chen on their way home from work said the sentence was “shocking” and “disgusting”.

Mike Coombes and Jamie Lindsay were driving home from their jobs as doormen at the Lava Ignite nightclub when they saw Chen driving his car with the front “caved in” as he fled the scene.

They drove after him from close to the crash scene in Poole Road to Suffolk Road near Bournemouth library, where they blocked him in and held him for the police.

Mike, 20, said: “It’s shocking.

“His attitude at the scene was disgusting so I thought he would get more than that.

“I was expecting him to get a lot more.”

In the chase Mike was driving while Jamie was on the phone to the police with the pair not knowing what had happened.

Jamie, 21, added: “That sentence is disgusting.

“It’s not really justice.”