A banker who ran over and killed a young Royal Navy recruit has had a court order relaxed so he can travel to Portugal for a 'business meeting'.
Wayne Davies, 31, dragged his victim James 'Hodge' Edwards 105 metres along Bramhall Moor Lane in Hazel Grove, Stockport.
Corporate banker Davies - who was regarded as a 'champagne Charlie' according to M.E.N. sources - claimed he thought he'd hit a bin bag.
He denied charges against him for two years until the eve of a re-trial when he admitted causing death by careless driving and possessing class A drugs.
The tragedy, in March 2017, devastated the Edwards family who have vowed never to forgive their son’s killer.
Davies, of Lyndhurst Avenue, Stockport, was sentenced for his crime in May and walked free from court.
He was handed a 10-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Banned from the roads for four years, he was also made the subject of an electronically monitored curfew for four months.
But Davies is understood to be in Portugal this weekend - just weeks into his sentence - after the terms of his order were varied so he could travel to attend a business meeting.
An application to temporarily vary the terms of Davies’ curfew order was granted, allowing the banker to travel to Portugal for a business meeting on July 5 and 6, a crown court representative told the M.E.N.
In order to make the changes, an application must be made in front of a crown court judge with the agreement of a probation officer, the Ministry of Justice confirmed.
Not all convicted criminals are managed by the HM Prison and Probation Service. Some are now managed by the National Probation Service or by a private sector Community Rehabilitation Company.
Minshull Street Crown Court previously heard how Davies was driving home at 4am in his Audi A5 Quattro when he struck Mr Edwards, 22, who was on a railway bridge on Bramhall Moor Lane when he was hit.
The collision, which caused fatal injuries, was witnessed by Mr Edwards horrified girlfriend.
Davies drove away and later told police he thought he had hit a bin bag after officers tracked him down from a trail of coolant from the damaged radiator of his car.
They also found a wrap of cocaine hidden in his phone.
Davies had been with a woman he had met in Manchester city centre when the collision happened.
Judge John Potter told Davies he had seen 'the obstruction' in the road and decided to drive over it at a speed of between 20mph and 25mph, dragging Mr Edward's body 105 metres down the road before driving away.
He didn’t investigate the obstruction, although there was evidence he had stopped later to examine damage to his Audi, the judge said.
Mr Edwards had been out celebrating his imminent posting to the Navy and was lying down on a railway bridge on Bramhall Moor Lane when he was hit.
He had argued with his girlfriend who went home before returning to look for him in her Mini, witnessing the moment he was hit.
Mr Edwards mother Jane Edwards, 50, confronted her son’s killer in court as she stood in the witness box.
"It's every mother's worse nightmare to lose a child and this nightmare has happened to me.
"A part of me has died and I can never get this back," she told the hearing, describing her son as as 'kind considerate and loving son loved by all with a beautiful smile'.
Mrs Edwards said she was was 'incensed' with the man who, had 'shown no remorse for what he's done and has a total disregard for human life' - and was more interested in 'protecting himself'.
She claimed that Davies had even 'tried to antagonise' by drinking in a pub in Poynton where the wake was held and even 'stared [her] out' at a supermarket when they bumped into each other, the court heard.
Despite being charged over the death, Davies had 'continued to parade his social life' through his girlfriend's social media account with photos from various locations looking like he doesn't have a care in the world', she said.
She added: "I will never forgive you Wayne Davies for what you have done to me and my family."
Mr and Mrs Edwards previously told the Manchester Evening News they were 'gutted' Davies had not been jailed, but said it was not a lenient sentence.
"He deserved a prison sentence, but I can understand the judge," said Mr Edwards.
"No mother should have to bury their child."
