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Motorist convicted of dangerous driving for causing A1 time trial deathJustice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)

Motorist convicted of dangerous driving for causing A1 time trial death

Custodial sentence awaits Cambridgeshire 19-year-old whose driving killed army officer
by Simon_MacMichael
Thu, Jan 28, 2010 00:48
5

A Cambridgeshire driver who killed a cyclist while he was taking part in a time trial last May has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving at Peterborough Crown Court.

As reported on road.cc on Tuesday, Katie Hart of Little Paxton, Cambridgeshire, had admitted causing the death by careless driving of army officer Major Gareth Rhys-Evans, but pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The 19-year-old health carer will be sentenced next month and has been told by the judge that she faces a prison sentence after the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict following five hours of deliberation.

Major Rhys-Evans, a serving officer with the Intelligence Corps, had been taking part in a 25-mile time trial organised by the Icknield Road Club when he was fatally injured after being hit by Hart’s Ford Ka.

Afterwards, the motorist, who was on her way to her boyfriend’s house, claimed to police that she had not the victim, although a female cyclist described to the court how Hart had passed within a foot of her just moments before the accident.

Major Rhys-Evans leaves two children, and BBC News reported that his widow Emma as saying: "Whatever the verdict was, it makes no difference to mine and my children's loss."
 

Road Safety
Gareth Evans
Fatality
fatal accident
Causing death by dangerous driving
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

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MalcolmBinns | 14 years ago
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Apologies if you felt that my comment was mis-placed. It was not to suggest in any way that Maj Rhys-Evans was implicated in being mown down by a driver on the A1. To be clear - I have no issue with anyone cycling on any road.

Having wheeled a tandem down the verge of the A1 just south of Sandy, I can guarentee that I would not want to ride on the carriageway.

My choice is to not cycle on the A1, A14, or any other road that's effectively a motorway.

To paraphrase E B Hall - "I wouldn't do what you did, but I will defend your right to do it."

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Simon E replied to MalcolmBinns | 14 years ago
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MalcolmBinns wrote:

Apologies if you felt that my comment was mis-placed.

No, not at all!

Please don't take it the wrong way. I'm merely saying that, if they choose to, a cyclist should be able to ride there and not fear for his/her life.

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MalcolmBinns | 14 years ago
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I'm confident that justice is being done. They took 5 hours to deliberate and came back unanimous. She's banned and jailed. Let's see for how long.

I still wouldn't ride or race on the A1.

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Simon E replied to MalcolmBinns | 14 years ago
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MalcolmBinns wrote:

I still wouldn't ride or race on the A1.

Understandable, but you should be able to do it without getting killed.

It must be so hard for families in cases like this, some kind of closure is critical to enable them to pick up the pieces afterwards. I would have thought Restorative Justice, where victims or their families get to talk with the perpetrator of a similar crime, would assist both sides. I don't recall hearing about this for a long time.

The comments by James and Joby in the 3feet discussion earlier this week hit the nail on the head. Cyclists are parents, sons and daughters too. I sometimes feel like asking drivers whether they have family, and how those relatives would feel if someone wiped him/her out because they couldn't wait 30 seconds to overtake.

Driving a car is like walking around with a loaded shotgun. The difference is in how they are perceived and used by those who have them.

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OldRidgeback | 14 years ago
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The wife's comment puts this in perspective.

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