Hit and run driver who killed cyclist loses appeal against sentence

Court of Appeal judges have upheld a six-year prison sentence handed down b last year to a motorist who killed a cyclist in a hit-and-run incident in Berkshire.

Paul Zagar, aged 42 and from Weybridge, Surrey, failed to stop after crashing into 68-year-old David Ardron in Bracknell in August 2015.

Mr Ardron was joining a dual carriageway from a cycle lane when he was hit by an Audi driven by Zagar, who failed to stop and did not report the incident. The cyclist died at the scene.

Witnesses said he had been driving “aggressively” and “like an idiot” before the fatal crash.

Last June, Zagar was convicted by a jury at Reading Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was imprisoned for six years and banned from driving for eight years.

His appeal against the sentence and the length of driving ban was upheld on Friday at the Court of Appeal in London, reports Get Reading.

https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/driver-who-killed-bracknell-cyclist-in...

Lord Justice Treacy said the motorist had “ample opportunity” to see Mr Ardron, who was in “plain sight”.

He added that the crime committed by Zagar was aggravated “by his persistent attempts to blame Mr Ardron for the collision.

“We fail to see how any blame can be attached to Mr Ardron," the judge concluded.

“We are not persuaded that the ultimate sentence of six years was manifestly excessive,” the judge concluded.