Community sentence for driver who killed Fife cyclist

A driver who was convicted of causing thee death by careless driving of a cyclist in Fife last year has been sentenced to 300 hours’ unpaid work and banned for driving for 10 years.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard David Gordon, aged 56, was making a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre and was on the wrong side of the road when he hit Gary Christie, 38, in Kirkcaldy.

BBC News reports that Mr Christie, a father of two, died from his injuries two weeks after the collision, which happened on 1 November 2016.

Sentencing Gordon, Lord Menzies said: "It must not be forgotten throughout all of this that Mr Christie was an innocent man who was just going about his daily routine of cycling to work and who was killed in the prime of his life." 

The judge said he had read a victim impact statement from a son of the deceased and added: "I can only begin to understand the loss and suffering which the death of Mr Christie has caused to his family and friends." 

He continuied: "You have accepted full responsibility for this accident and you have displayed remorse.

“Many people convicted of crimes claim to be remorseful," added the judge, who said that in this instance he believed the remorse was genuine.