A MOTORIST who crashed into another car, killing the driver, after speeding through a red light on the wrong side of the road has been jailed for six years.

Ivan Fernandez-Dinan, aged 30, of Ebbsfleet Walk, Northfleet, smashed his Nissan sports car into the side of Stuart Golding’s Vauxhall Astra at a crossroads in Bromley Lane, Chislehurst, on April 13 last year.

Mr Golding, 28, died at the scene and his passenger Matthew Vickers, also 28, suffered serious injuries.

Fernandez-Dinan, a railway safety officer, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday after previously being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

John Williams, prosecuting, told the court: “He accelerated through a red light on the wrong side of the road at considerable speed.”

But during the trial, father-of-one Fernandez-Dinan claimed the traffic lights had been faulty and had suddenly changed from green to red as he approached.

He said after overtaking another vehicle, he did not have time to stop when the lights suddenly changed, so he accelerated to try to get through the crossroads before side-on traffic reached the junction.

However, Judge Warwick McKinnon dismissed this claim, saying: “However you look at it, this was a dangerous piece of driving.”

Before being sentenced, Fernandez-Dinan told News Shopper: “I am extremely sorry for what happened.

“If I had braked, I could have avoided it.

He added: “Going to prison is just so wrong.

“I was not prepared to plead guilty because I’m not guilty.

“The way it came across from the prosecution was totally out of order.”

Fernandez-Dinan was also banned from driving for five years and the judge told him he must serve at least half of his prison term before being released.

Speaking after sentencing, Mr Golding’s father Graham Golding told News Shopper he wished Fernandez-Dinan “had got 10 years”.

He added: “That man has ruined so many lives.

“We have moved to Whitstable since Stuart died, as there are too many painful memories in Orpington.”