A 22-year-old dental nurse who killed a cyclist while speeding on a country lane has been spared jail.
Cerys Doe from Cheltenham hit 50-year-old Richard Harding despite him wearing hi-visibility clothing as he cycled to work.
The father-of-one died as a result of the motorist’s ‘momentary lapse’, a judge at Gloucester Crown Court said on Friday.
Cerys Doe (pictured) ploughed into Richard Harding (pictured) on a country lane and has been spared jail
Judge Ian Lawrie QC said Doe was ‘not a bad person’ but said her carelessness has cost a life as he ordered her to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Doe admitted causing Mr Harding’s death by careless driving on the road between Tredington and Stoke Orchard on February 2 this year.
She was also banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pass an extended re-test before she is allowed on the road again.
Mr Harding’s family were in court to hear Judge Ian Lawrie QC tell her: ‘The profound sense of guilt you feel is far greater punishment than I can give out. That in reality is your punishment.’
The cyclist was riding out of Tredington towards Stoke Orchard at 7.30am, prosecutor Stephen Dent said.
‘He was wearing a helmet, high viz clothing, had lights on his bike and was on the correct side of the road. She was travelling in the opposite direction,’ he said. ‘It was damp, but there was no ice.’
‘Two motorists travelling behind Doe saw her lose control as she negotiated a left hand bend.
‘She clipped the nearside verge and crossed into the other side of the road. The front offside of her vehicle collided with Mr Harding, and she continued to spin anti-clockwise, ending up facing the wrong way.’
Mr Harding was ‘projected in to the hedgerow, and was very badly injured,’ he added.
Cerys Doe from Cheltenham hit 50-year-old Richard Harding despite him wearing hi-visibility clothing as he cycled to work on this road
‘Despite massive surgical intervention he died later that day at Southmead Hospital,’ he said.
Police Collision Investigator, Phillip Rees said Doe lost control of her vehicle 140 metres before the collision. She was travelling at between 3 and 11 mph above the speed limit.
The court heard that Doe had ‘black box’ fitted in her car to monitor her driving and it showed ‘nothing remarkable’ in the 20 minutes after she left home until the crash.
‘It shows consistent observation of speed limits,’ commented Judge Ian Lawrie QC.
Mr Dent agreed and added that the box did not record any heavy braking during the loss of control.
The keen runner was killed while cycling to his place of work
Doe had been driving for eighteen months at that time and had no previous convictions.
Doe had told police that she felt her car slide across the road, and assumed that it was ice, but Mr Dent said that was not possible due to the temperatures.
In her police interview she said that she did not see Mr Harding until after the collision.
The judge noted it was a ‘momentary loss of control’ as Mr Dent confirmed that she struggled to regain control after the first error.
Mr Harding’s widow, Andrea, said: ‘It was a lovely sunny morning, the first of the year. He decided to cycle.’
When she set off later to work she found the Tredington route was blocked and immediately thought there must have been an accident and she hoped her husband was okay, she stated.
‘I got to the office and called his mobile and it went to voicemail,’ she said. ‘I had always imagined that we would grow old together.’
The court heard they had been married for 21 years.
‘I miss him so much. Now I sigh when I get near home – he will not be there waiting for me,’ she said.
‘Daisy misses her father so much. He died a few weeks before her 18th Birthday. She will never see how proud he is of her.’
Mrs Harding described her husband as ‘honest, hard working, always smiling. A fantastic dad, a loving, special and daft husband’.
William Rose, defending, read to the court a letter Doe had written saying: ‘This is the most traumatic and upsetting part of my life. I had just started a career as a trainee dental nurse.
‘As a result of what happened a man lost his life. I cannot imagine the sorrow or loss. I think about it constantly. My life and theirs will not be the same again.
‘I can only assume it was my lack of experience as a driver that caused me to knock the kerb. I have suffered with anxiety and had trouble sleeping. I struggle with this daily.
‘Although medication and talking about it helps, it will never get better. If I could ever change the fate of that split second that morning… but nothing can change things and bring him back.
‘There was no intent to cause harm. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause harm. In the last six months this has dominated every waking hour for me.
‘I can only apologise to his family. I will carry the guilt for the rest of my life. I hope you can forgive me. I will carry the guilt on my shoulders forever.’
Passing sentence of a community order with unpaid work the judge told Doe: ‘I have no doubt his death is never far from your mind.
‘You made a terrible mistake. An error of judgement that arises from your relatively limited driving experience. Your sense of remorse is profound.’
He described Doe as an ‘intelligent, hard working, and pleasant individual’.
As he concluded his sentencing remarks he told her: ‘You are not a bad person. You are a careless person. That did lead to someone’s death.’
In a statement issued at the time of Mr Harding’s death his wife and daughter said: ‘Richard was a kind and thoughtful man, devoted to his family and a keen runner.
‘He had completed several 10ks and half marathons, four London marathons and was training for the Manchester marathon in April.
‘He leaves behind a heartbroken wife, daughter and family and will be missed by many friends.’