A man from Gloucestershire who drove his car after drinking a litre of vodka and killed an 82-year-old cyclist has been jailed for six years.
Michael Burke, aged 39 and from King’s Stanley, was three times over the drink-driving limit and driving on the wrong side of the road when he struck Thelma Byard on 23 April this year, reports BBC News.
Mrs Byard, who had been cycling to visit her son when Burke hit her on Cainscross Road in Stroud, died in hospital from her injuries.
Gloucester Crown Court was told that Burke, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, could not remember the crash which happened as he drove between two pubs he owned.
He fled the scene and Mrs Byard was discovered by a police officer on patrol at around 4.50am.
Sentencing Burke, Judge Michael Cullum, who also banned him from driving for eight years, said: "Thelma Byard was 82 and described as sprightly and popular.
"One of the things she was known for was her cycling, which she did every day. She was in good health and enjoying life.
"She cared for others, including her son, and she was a popular mother, grandmother and indeed great grandmother.
"She was cycling on her own side of the road in a high-viz jacket and helmet when she had the misfortune in the early hours of the morning to meet you.
"You were driving entirely on the wrong side of the road. The street was well lit but it appears you didn't see her.
"You didn't see her because you shouldn't have been driving - because you were not fit to drive. You were exceptionally drunk from consuming a good litre plus of vodka."
Regarding Burke’s failure to stop, the judge said: "It was something which no humane person would do. You literally left Thelma Byard to die in the road.
"She didn't actually die in the road. The police and paramedics managed to prolong her life but she died some hours later. She was alive when you left her in the road.
"That is a decision you have to live with and for which, I accept, you are remorseful,” he added.
In a statement, Mrs Byard’s family spoke of the “huge void” that her death had left in their lives and said she had been “tragically taken away from us in a way that is unforgivable.
"She was often seen out and about on her bike and many people wished they could be doing the same when they reach 82.
"While to most people Thelma's death is another statistic, to her family and friends it is a brutal reality,” the statement continued.
“If someone gets into a car, you are in charge of a lethal weapon.”