A motorist who claimed he was “blinded by the sun” when he cut across and struck a cyclist, who died that evening from his injuries – despite another driver who was following close behind telling officers that she saw the cyclist approaching – has been handed a 12-month suspended prison sentence.
According to Judge Simon Batiste, who also ordered motorist Trevor Moran to complete 15 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work, cyclist Robin Newman “should have been visible” and “had no chance at all” when the driver moved across and hit him as he descended a hill in West Yorkshire.
58-year-old Moran admitted to causing the death of the cyclist and father-of-two in September 2021 by careless driving at Leeds Crown Court yesterday. He was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving and was due to stand trial, but later admitted the lesser charge of careless driving, leading to his suspended sentence, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.
According to prosecutor Heather Gilmore, Mr Newman was a “keen and experienced” cyclist who was enjoying a morning ride from his home in Doncaster as he rode along the B6136, between Ferrybridge and Knottingley in West Yorkshire, at around 10.20am on 22 September 2021.
As the cyclist descended the hill at 26mph, Moran – travelling in the opposite direction – turned across him into Vale Crescent, giving Mr Newman no time to brake or react. The father-of-two collided with the passenger side of Moran’s car, and was catapulted over his handlebars.
After being assisted by passers-by, including Moran, Mr Newman was taken to hospital with several internal injuries, including a haemorrhage caused by a laceration to his liver, and died later that evening.
During his interview with police officers, Moran claimed that he did not see Mr Newman approaching due to the “glare from the sun”. However, a driver who was following behind him told officers that she had spotted the cyclist before the fatal crash.
Mitigating, Allan Armbrister said Moran, who has 13 previous convictions for 30 offences, was remorseful for his actions and claimed that he was a hard-working man, who understood that immediate prison was a possibility.
In court this week, Judge Simon Batiste told the motorist: “He [Mr Newman] was an extremely experienced cyclist. I make it clear he did absolutely nothing wrong that day, whatsoever.
“He was dressed in a bright-pink cycling top and helmet. He was therefore appropriately dressed. He should have been visible. He had no chance at all. Somehow you clearly did not see Mr Newman cycling down towards you.”
The judge sentenced Moran to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 15 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Newman’s wife said: “We were soulmates. We could never imagine life without each other.
“The children miss Rob every day. I feel like I died that day as well. I exist to merely look after the children and drag us out of the pit we are in. We are all absolutely devastated by the loss of Rob.”
In June, after a very similar collision which took place just 40 miles down the road in Sheffield, a motorist was handed a suspended prison sentence and a five-year driving ban when a judge ruled that “a few seconds of bad, bad driving” led her to hit and kill cyclist Adrian Lane at a notoriously dangerous junction where safe cycling campaigners later held a ‘die-in’ protest – only for a “raging” motorist to attempt to drive through the group of demonstrators.
58-year-old Adrian Lane was cycling downhill at around 30mph on Ringinglow Road, just outside Sheffield, when he was struck by driver Gillian Dungworth, who turned across the cyclist’s path at the junction with Common Lane, causing him to catapult into the car’s windscreen.
Dungworth was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, after she pleaded guilty to causing Mr Lane’s death by dangerous driving.