Weston Hills teenage driver caused death by careless driving

A Weston Hills teenage driver, who killed a 47-year-old cyclist when he knocked him off his bicycle, has escaped a custodial sentence at Boston Magistrates Court.

Hadley Fisher (19) of Broadgate, Weston Hills, admitted causing the death of Jason Ingle by careless driving on February 17 last year.

Prosecuting, Ruth Snodin said that during the evening, Fisher was using a VW Golf as a courtesy car as his own car was being repaired, and he drove along Kellett Gate at Low Fulney, which she described as a “narrow road” with a 60mph limit in an industrial area with no street lighting.

She said both the car and Mr Ingle’s pedal cycle were travelling in the same direction and as the vehicles were level there was a collision as a result of which Mr Ingle died.

She said police attended and Fisher told them that Mr Ingle had been on the right hand side of the road on his pedal cycle and said he had thought he was going to stay there but as he overtook him, he swerved in front of him and “there was no way he could avoid him”.

Ms Snodin said a witness ran to the scene after hearing a bang and then heard high-pitched screaming.

She said he saw Mr Ingle lying in the road with his bicycle nearby and a man, identified as Fisher, walking around with his head in his hands, wailing.

She said an off-duty paramedic attended and an ambulance was on the scene in five minutes, but Mr Ingle was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

Mitigating, Daven Naghen said that nothing he would say was “to add to the pain and suffering of Mr Ingle’s family”.

He said that Fisher had made a “misjudgement” and “should have slowed down more” when he saw the cyclist around 300 metres in front of him.

He said Mr Ingle was on the right hand side of the road and Fisher “wrongly assumed” he would stay there, but when he drew level “he pulled in front of him”.

He said Fisher was “inconsolable” and had given up his job which involved driving all over the country and taken one for which he only had to drive to his workplace.

He said it was he who had been wailing and he who had phoned the off-duty paramedic he knew in the area and who came to the scene.

He said the road was a narrow one, just 4.8 metres wide, against a standard width of six metres, but two vehicles could pass one another.

Mr Naghen said Mr Ingle was “not wearing a helmet” although “we don’t know what difference it would have made”.

He said Fisher had not “adjusted his speed, which had been estimated at 60 to 66mph, to take account of a vulnerable road user”, but it had “happened in the blink of an eye”.

The magistrates said that nothing they sentenced could have any relevance “to the life of the victim”.

“We can put no price on that,” said the chairwoman.

She told Fisher he was “driving too fast for the road conditions, possibly due to your lack of experience”, but did recognise his admissions and the remorse he had expressed.

Fisher was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work for the community and was banned from driving for two years.

He was also ordered to pay £170 in costs and charges.