Lorry driver sentenced to four years in prison after hitting and killing cyclist while speeding on the wrong side of the road

An Essex lorry driver who hit and killed a cyclist while speeding on the wrong side of the road has been sentenced to four years in prison. Justyn Ransley failed to stop after the collision and instead continued with his deliveries while attempting to source replacement parts for his vehicle.

Echo-news.co.uk reports that in the early hours of Thursday, December 1, 2016, Ransley hit cyclist Stephen Wightwick while driving on the wrong side of the road in Buckhurst Hill in Epping.

He had been driving at 43mph in what is a 30mph area.

Ransley didn’t stop and while he returned a few minutes later, he didn’t help Wightwick or call emergency services.

Instead, he left the cyclist lying seriously injured on the pavement alongside the bike and the truck’s wing mirror. He continued with his deliveries and used his phone to try and find replacement parts for the lorry, later telling his employers he’d hit a tree.

Police found the lorry in a compound in Basildon. Upon being arrested, Ransley said he had not seen Wightwick when he hit him and failed to stop.

Detective sergeant Peter Swan said: “On arrest, Ransley tried to claim black ice caused him to be on the wrong side of the road and he was unaware he’d hit a cyclist.

“It was only after we showed him CCTV footage from the previous two weeks, where he performed the same manoeuvre every time he drove that route and of him returning to the scene, that Ransley was left with no option but to admit his guilt."

Ransley admitted causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and failing to report a road traffic collision. He was given full credit for his early guilty plea.

As well as the prison sentence, Ransley was disqualified from driving for four years and will have to take an extended retest when he is released.