Fuel tanker driver receives six-month suspended sentence for causing death of cyclist by careless driving

A fuel tanker driver who fatally struck a cyclist while turning left at a roundabout has received a six-month suspended prison sentence.

Richard Hardcastle admitted causing the death of Anna Garratt-Quinton by careless driving at a roundabout in Cambridge, near the hospital where the 22-year-old physiotherapist worked, on 7 October 2021 as he attempted a left turn.

Prosecutor Mouzam Razaq told Peterborough Magistrates' Court that Hardcastle, an HGV driver with seven years' experience, had been travelling behind the cyclist and police believe she was going straight at the roundabout.

> "The kindest soul" – Family pay tribute to cyclist killed in Cambridge yesterday

Ms Garratt-Quinton was hit and declared dead at the scene, with the judge, Ken Sheraton, saying there had been a "period of some seconds when Mr Hardcastle should have been aware" of the rider.

At sentencing, along with the six-month suspended sentence, Hardcastle was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and was disqualified from driving for two years, the judge acknowledging that he had no previous convictions, does not plan to return to HGV driving and showed "obvious remorse".

"One of the kindest and most caring souls"

The court heard numerous victim impact statements, including emotional accounts from Ms Garratt-Quinton's aunt on behalf of her mother Sally, hospital colleagues and partner of four years.

The cyclist's mother said it was "hard to convey here in a few words how special she was... I know all parents think their children are special, but the mark Anna made in her short 22 years of life are borne out in the tributes to her".

Ms Garratt-Quinton's partner of four years, Jordan Hemsil, said "she made my life better just by being in it", while colleagues described being "devastated" and called their fellow hospital worker "one of the kindest and most caring souls I was fortunate enough to have known and worked with".