Sam Riddall, 11 years old, was killed on 1 May 2009, in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, by a car which mounted the pavement while he was walking home from a church group meeting. The incident made the mainstream national news in the United Kingdom after the car under which Riddall had been trapped was abandoned at the scene, prompting a police appeal to the public for information on the whereabouts of the registered keeper of the car, Hannah Saaf, a 27-year old law graduate and mother of twins who was married to a musician. A direct appeal was broadcast from the police and from the parents of the deceased for Saaf to contact the police. On 10 May, Saaf was arrested in what the local press called a "dramatic police operation" involving a helicopter, search dogs, cars and officers. She was charged with causing Riddall's death by dangerous driving, and other related charges including failing to report the accident. According to the local press, in August 2009 her lawyers indicated her intention to plead guilty to the main charge, and the hearing was adjourned to no later than 18 September. In December 2009 she was sentenced to be detained in a mental hospital indefinitely. Saaf should not have been driving because her licence had been withdrawn.
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