Driver caused cyclist's death while 'distracted'

A driver caused a crash that killed a cyclist when she was "distracted" by the news that her father was dying.

Lucinda Collins was on a hands-free call with her mother while behind the wheel of her BMW as she drove her three-year-old daughter to a play date, Chester Crown Court heard.

Dentist Collins, 40, was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, for causing death by dangerous driving near Christleton in Cheshire.

She hit another BMW while travelling at around 40mph, pushing the vehicle into the path of cyclist Roger Dutton, 75.

The court heard Collins had missed 'stop' signs as she was approaching a junction on Brown Heath Road between the villages of Waverton and Christleton, near Chester, on 25 August 2022.

She failed to brake before hitting the other vehicle.

Mr Dutton, a retired builder from Holywell, North Wales, was described as a "much-loved" father, grandfather and cycling club member.

Mother-of-one Collins, of Upton, Cheshire, admitted at an earlier hearing to causing death by dangerous driving.

She sat in the dock as members of Mr Dutton's family told her how her actions had devastated their lives.

Judge Stephen Everett told Collins: "Many will appreciate the irony of the news you received and the actions resulting in them.

"You received news of the impending death of your father, and, by your actions and distraction, you visited that same awful experience on the family sitting to my right."

Judge Everett said because Collins had never been in trouble before and did not present a danger to the public, he would not send her to jail.

She was banned from the roads for five years, given 250 hours of community service, and ordered to pay £2,260 in costs.

Turning to Mr Dutton's family, Judge Everett said he had to "follow the law" before adding: "You may or may not agree with me."

Earlier, James Coutts, prosecuting, told the court Mr Dutton was the oldest member and "glue" of the Simply Grey Cycling Club, and was out enjoying a ride in summer sunshine when he was killed by Collins.

Mr Coutts said as Collins took a call from her mother with an update on her father's health she took a wrong turn, taking her through the countryside.

Collins did not brake before the collision and told police at the scene she had simply lost concentration.

The court heard Mr Dutton was described as a "remarkable" man who was "challenging the stereotype of a 75-year-old pensioner", was "thriving" in retirement, happy, healthy, and had a zest for life.

Mr Dutton's widow, Dale Dutton, said in a statement they were married aged 17 and were weeks away from their 46th wedding anniversary.

She said: "The emptiness is so big. We will never see his smiling face or hear his laughter again.

"The loss will be with us forever. He was everything to me. I am broken. He was the light of our lives."

His son, Joel Dutton, said his father was his hero and best friend, and Olivia Dutton, his daughter, looked at Collins directly as she read her victim impact statement.

"You and your actions alone have left our family devastated and broken. I miss him to my very core."

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