A DRIVER who killed a woman and drove into others during a shocking crash rampage has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
The shocking series of collisions happened in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on Saturday, May 3, when Keith Knight, 49, ploughed his car into pedestrians and other vehicles.
Knight was originally charged with the murder of 68-year-old Irina Artemeva and the attempted murder of six others.
Emergency services were first called to Bury Road, near the junction of Woodgate Avenue, at around 2.30pm, after reports that a woman with a child in a pram and two other people had been hit by a car.
Moments later, police received further reports that another woman, aged 68, had been struck by a car on Whitworth Road, close to Rochdale town centre.
Tragically, she later died from her injuries and was named in court as Irina Artemeva.
At Manchester Crown Court today, Knight pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, as well as six counts of attempted murder.
Prosecutor Michael Brady KC told the court that medical experts found Knight had been suffering from “abnormal mental functioning which arose from a recognised medical condition” at the time of the offences.
“It was found that the defendant was not in the condition to exercise rational judgement or self control, and so a partial defence of diminished responsibility is accepted by the Crown,” he said.
Defending, Mukul Chawla KC said: “To his credit, he is deeply remorseful his actions have caused that hurt and pain.”
Knight, of no fixed abode, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on January 19 next year.
