A delivery driver who killed a cyclist while high on drugs has been jailed for seven years.
Jonathon Ramsbottom, from Rochdale, collided head-on with Stephen White, who had been training for an Ironman, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, in May 2020.
Mr White, aged 54, suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital a short time after.
Ramsbottom was found to have 200 micrograms of Benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – in 100millilitres of blood.
The 37-year-old Yodel driver, who was on bail for drugs offences at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving at Bradford Crown Court, The Bolton News reports.
Sentencing Ramsbottom, the judge said that he would have jailed him for ten years had he opted for trial.
Passing sentence Judge Richard Mansell QC said: "Any careful, sensible and sober driver would have seen him and avoided him.
"You were driving too fast, one arm out of the window, with a passenger in the vehicle and with excess cocaine and some cannabis in your system.
"These two drugs, often used in combination by so many young men who work in manual or trade jobs, are fast becoming a scourge of our society.
"Cyclists take their life in their hands when they go out on just about any road in our country now."
He said the case was seriously aggravated by the fact Ramsbottom was on bail for conspiring to supply cocaine at the time.
The court heard he was jailed in December 2020 for four-and-a-half-years for that offence.
Judge Mansell said Ramsbottom's seven year sentence would be served consecutively to the sentence for supplying cocaine.
He also banned him from driving for 11 years.
Tributes poured in for Mr White following his death and he was described as a keen runner and cyclist.
In a statement released shortly after his death, his family said: “Stephen was a much loved husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend to so many and will be terribly missed by all that knew him.”
In a statement Mr White's running club, Holcombe Harriers, said: "Steve was an extremely popular member of Holcombe Harriers. He always had a smile on his face and had a kind word for everybody.
"He was a man who enjoyed the camaraderie of his club mates and shared his generous personality and sense of humour."
It added: "He was involved in all aspects of club life, enjoyed racing on and off the fell and in triathlon. He was determined to succeed in all his athletic endeavours and was presently training for Ironman."
Independent witnesses of leaving the scene of an incident without providing insurance details is a police matter, even with Essex Police funding...
You could also say that Betteridge's law in this case applies to the implied question "Are you, as a motorist, under attack?"
Whose car, though?
With regards to signalling when passing both parked cars and cyclists (and anything else that happens to be in the carriageway) when driving, I...
Not since the start of the year - he's got a bigger job now. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/22/chris-boardman-to-lead-n...
Submissions for the Jubilee City nominations were supposed to highlight their royal associations and cultural heritage, Milton Keynes didnt even...
If you want the full details, look on YT for DCrainmaker or Gplama, they have run the numbers, and with crank based powermeters in Shimano...
Expected a breakaway win. Made a last minute change to my planned transfers and didn't go for Yates as planned. Chose Hindley instead which was a...
My bitter experience with carbon fibre Fulcrums, descending at high speed in the Alps with rim brakes, I burnt through the side wall of my rear...
You can also look at Soller, which is at the bottom of the Puig Major - which leads to the Sa Collabra, etc. If you're definitely going and need...