A van driver who was using two phones and drinking vodka at the wheel when he hit and killed a cyclist, before driving off, later telling police officers that he thought he had “hit a bird”, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and banned from driving for a further eight years.

Robert Heyes was driving his work van to a garage for a service when he struck 41-year-old cyclist Keith Brady from behind on the A673 Chorley New Road in Bolton, close to the junction with Lostock Junction Lane, at around 4pm on 17 October 2022.

Mr Brady, who had recently got a new job and purchased a flat, suffered a fractured spine and ribs and a serious head injury in the collision. The factory worker was taken by air ambulance to Salford Royal Hospital, where he died two days later, the Manchester Evening News reports.

He was the second cyclist to be killed on Chorley New Road, a major A-road between Bolton and Horwich, in the space of five months, after segregated cycle lane wands were controversially removed in 2021.

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Heyes, who has a history of drink-driving offences and was wanted by police at the time of the fatal collision, was drinking vodka and playing his car stereo at virtually full volume when he struck the cyclist, before driving off and leaving Mr Brady on the road.

Bolton Crown Court heard this week that the 38-year-old was using both his work mobile phone and his personal phone at the time of the crash, and was sending messages as well as browsing the internet, with later analysis discovering that one of the phones was in continuous use for 33 seconds immediately after the collision took place.

When he arrived at the garage, Heyes told staff that the van’s windscreen was cracked because vandals had thrown a brick at it. He also searched online for news of the fatal collision while still driving the vehicle and told a friend in a text message: “I am going to prison, mate. I’ve knocked someone over.”

Robert Heyes
Robert Heyes (Image Credit: Greater Manchester Police)

After witnesses noted the company logo on his van, Heyes was arrested by police, who discovered that he had a long history of drink driving, including previous convictions for being drunk in charge of a vehicle, drunk and disorderly, and harassment.

The court heard that the motorist had been arrested in May 2020 after he drove his work van into a ditch near Burnley while under the influence of alcohol. He was charged with failing to provide a breath sample, but did not attend court later that year, leading to a warrant being issued for his arrest.

After evading police for two years, Heyes was re-arrested in September 2022, but was released on bail once again following what officers termed an “administration error” when he should have been in court, leading to a fresh warrant being issued just weeks before the crash which claimed Mr Brady’s life.

“It is regrettable that at the time of the dangerous driving that killed Mr Brady, the defendant was wanted on a warrant without bail,” prosecutor Rob Hall told Bolton Crown Court this week.

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Describing the circumstances leading up to the fatal collision, Hall said: “His Apple Car Play hands-free was connected with his work iPhone 7 and he was in possession of his personal Samsung mobile phone.

“Data from the handset shows that it was being activated by hand. There was a use of the WhatsApp application on the works phone and Safari Internet browser. The Samsung mobile phone received a Facebook message and there were other mobile phone applications and message applications used.

“Rather significantly that at the time of the collision, Mr Heyes was using the messaging application on the screen on his phone. For a period of 33 seconds the phone appears to be continued in use after the collision took place.”

He continued: “Mr Brady was on the near-side yellow lines, right on the periphery of the eastbound carriageway, and the defendant’s van was immediately behind him.

“The front near side of the van and the rear of the bicycle collided, propelling Mr Brady back onto the nearside bonnet, and his head hit the windscreen. Sadly, he was not wearing a cycle helmet.

“The defendant simply drove on without any thought of what he had just collided with, despite the obvious smash to the near-side windscreen. Neither did he make any attempt to call emergency services.”

The court also heard that an empty bottle of vodka and a bottle of water were found in a plastic bag under the van at the garage.

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Over a year after the fatal crash, in November 2023, Heyes was again involved in another drink-driving incident, when he was caught three times over the legal alcohol limit while driving with his son in the van near Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

The 38-year-old, who police said was so drunk he struggled to get out of his van, was handed a community order and told to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work for that latest episode.

Defending Heyes in court this week, Rick Holland said: “The defendant has been beset by many problems in relation with alcohol and these problems were exacerbated around this time because his uncle had died in May of that year and a friend took his own life live on Facebook.

“He had also been warned that his unborn child would need open-heart surgery. He was working but plainly drink had a considerable grip on him.”

After admitting causing Mr Brady’s death by dangerous driving, Heyes was sentenced this week to 11 years and two months in prison. He will also be banned from driving for eight years upon his release.

“Your record shows a complete disregard for the safety of other road users,” Judge Abigail Hudson told him. “But even having hit Mr Brady and when you clearly were aware you had at least gravely injured another human being, you yet again used your phone to access a search engine whilst driving your vehicle.

“It is clear that you were intoxicated on the day of this incident, but the level of intoxication cannot be proven because of your decision to leave the scene and thereafter refuse to provide a specimen for testing.”

In a victim impact statement, Mr Brady’s father, Gary Brady, said of his son: “He had suffered from mental health issues most of his adult life, but recently started to make terrific progress and his social interaction improved dramatically.

“He had a job and he was looking forward to Christmas for the first time in a long time. I do not believe I will ever be able to think of Keith again without thinking that afternoon in 2022.”

> Cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver on road where cycle lane wands were controversially ripped out

As we reported at the time, Mr Brady was the second cyclist to be killed on the Chorley New Road in the space of just five months, after wands protecting cyclists using the busy A-road’s bike lane were controversially removed the previous year.

In May 2022, 52-year-old Lee Rayner was also killed in a hit-and-run on the road, with Mr Brady’s death that September raising questions over why the cycle lane segregation – initially installed in early 2021 as part of the Covid-19 Emergency Active Travel Fund programme – was ripped out.

Many local cyclists directed their anger and frustration at Conservative councillor Andy Morgan, who was an outspoken critic of the orca wands, calling their removal “absolutely the right decision” and “common sense” prevailing.

Chorley New Road
Chorley New Road (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The wands – which were never in place at the two sites where the fatal collisions took place – were initially removed for an Ironman event which used the road in June 2021.

Later that year, in September, the council confirmed that they would not return and that the £275,000 active travel scheme would be scrapped, following a public consultation which found that 68 per cent of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with the wider segregated cycle lanes.

However, it was later reported that councillors were warned that removing the wands would mean that the active travel scheme on Chorley New Road would fall short of national safety standards and would fail to comply with Active Travel fund criteria.