A driver who knocked down and killed a jogger after falling asleep at the wheel has been jailed.and will consequently lead to far more serious sanctions in cases when people lose their lives.
Glen Widdowson, aged 48, was returning home from a night shift when he veered onto the wrong side of the road, struck a kerb and hit his victim from behind.
Widdowson had been working as a night manager at a Leicestershire hotel throughout the previous evening.
Aimi McCaffery, a 46-year-old mum-of two, died at the scene of the collision in Cropwell Butler, on the morning of Sunday 15 May 2022.
Mrs McCaffery, described by her family as “a wonderful mother, daughter and loving friend”, was jogging on the correct side of the road and facing the oncoming traffic when she was hit.
Moments before the collision, however, Widdowson was caught on CCTV veering towards the wrong side of the carriageway as he drove along Radcliffe Road and towards Mrs McCaffery.
He then failed to negotiate a slight left-hand bend in the road, mounted a kerb with two wheels and struck her at a speed of around 50mph.
Forensic collision investigators later concluded that he had made no effort to brake prior to the collision.
With no defects noted to the vehicle and no alternative explanation from Widdowson, it was concluded he must have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Several passing motorists stopped ad attempted to resuscitate Mrs McCaffery, but nothing could be done to save Mrs McCaffery’s life.
Widdowson, who was taking his usual route home through country lanes, was not speeding and remained at the scene of the collision.
Investigators also discovered that he had been diagnosed with the condition sleep Apnoea in 2016 – a condition that disrupts sleep and adds to fatigue.
Although he said he couldn’t be sure what happened, Widdowson later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving on the basis that he fell asleep at the wheel.
Widdowson had been remanded in custody following his plea at an earlier hearing on 31 August.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court today (Tuesday 26 September), Widdowson, of Addington Court, Radcliffe on Trent, was jailed for three years and six months. He was also banned from driving for four years and nine months.
His sentence reflected his earlier guilty plea and his previous good character.
Detective Constable Christopher Taylor, of Nottinghamshire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said:
“This was an utterly tragic incident that robbed a family of a loving mother, wife and friend. Aimi did everything right on that dreadful morning and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time as Widdowson drove home from work.
“As he begins a significant jail sentence, I sincerely hope that other drivers will take note of the potential consequences of falling asleep at the wheel. The act of falling asleep is always considered to be dangerous rather than careless driving
“So, I urge anyone who feels tired behind the wheel pay attention to how they feel, pull over and take an appropriate break. As this case demonstrates, the consequences of not doing this can be devastating.
“Her loss has been felt by her family and across her network of friends, and colleagues in the community charity she ran. Please remember Aimi and do not push yourself to drive any further when you feel tired.”
https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/news/nottinghamshire/news/news/2023/september/sleeping-driver-jailed-after-running-down-and-killing-jogger/
https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/news/nottinghamshire/news/news/2023/september/sleeping-driver-jailed-after-running-down-and-killing-jogger/...and the cycling interest is?
On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 6:48:24 PM UTC+1, soup wrote:
...and the cycling interest is?
https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/news/nottinghamshire/news/news/2023/september/sleeping-driver-jailed-after-running-down-and-killing-jogger/
It's very clear - we have to deal with these dangerous criminal killers every time we venture out onto our roads...
QUOTE: He then failed to negotiate a slight left-hand bend in the road, mounted a kerb with two wheels and struck her at a speed of around 50mph. ENDS
Joggers are not even safe on the footpaths due to these killers.
A 43-year-old van driver who was over the cocaine limit mounted a pavement and smashed into a pedestrian - breaking his back and breastbone and leaving him almost two centimetres shorter because of his injuries, a court has been told.towards a local convenience store.
CCTV footage of Wayne Anderson's van rounding a bend and then going up onto the footway and flooring the oncoming pedestrian was shown at Gloucester Crown Court before he was sentenced to a 16-month suspended jail term.
The court was told he had been looking down into the footwell of his van and not paying attention to his driving when the crash happened at Shurdington, near Cheltenham, on December 12, 2021.
Anderson of Ladysmith Road, was driving in his white sign-written van along Yarnolds in Shurdington at 10.20am that day when he failed to take the right hand bend and careered straight into the 60-year-old pedestrian, who was walking on the footpath
The CCTV footage showed the van can approaching the bend before going too wide and mounting the pavement. Moments later the van hit the pedestrian, who had just walked into view from a side street.
Anderson carried on driving before returning to the scene where he found that the pedestrian lying motionless, having sustained a broken back and a broken sternum.
The court was told that the victim had to undergo surgery, which meant that he lost about one to two centimetres in height.
Anderson was subsequently arrested for the offence and was found to be intoxicated through the use of cocaine.
He disputed, however, that he was impaired due to the use of drugs and maintained he did not know how the cocaine had got in to his system.
He stated that he had been looking at something in the footwell of the passenger side of the car when the collision occurred.
The Crown Prosecution Service chose not to argue the drugs issue in a fact-finding hearing and accepted that Anderson was not impaired by the cocaine, despite being more than twice over the legal limit for driving,
Anderson was found guilty of driving whilst under the influence of drugs and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Judge Jason Taylor KC told Anderson: "What's become apparent throughout this hearing is that you were effectively looking in the footwell of the passenger side of the car when the collision occurred.
"The injuries that you caused were significant and this has resulted in the victim losing about one to two centimetres in height. Fortunately, additional surgery is not necessary.
"The victim's victim personal statement explains how he had to take off over two months off work and has had to give up his martial arts interest.
"The analysis of your blood reveals that you had cocaine in your system. The tolerance level for drugs is effectively zero. Your basis of plea suggests that you've no idea how that was ingested.
"But be that as it may, the fact that it was present must be reflected in your sentence, even though there was no visible sign of impairment.
"It's important to stress that there is no suggestion whatsoever that your actions that day were caused, or contributed to, by the use of drugs in your system. The inattention was caused by you looking in the footwell.
"You are a man who is effectively of good character. There are no legal guidelines for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but I take the view that looking in the footwell goes beyond that required of paying attention to where you are driving.
"It's not the same as glancing around seeing what is on the passenger seat. You vision was obviously right down in that footwell while paying no attention to the road in front of you.
"In this instance you turned your car into a weapon. This offence passes the custody threshold."
The judge sentenced Anderson to a prison term of 16 months and suspended it for 18 months. He ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay court costs of £425 and a mandatory surcharge.
Anderson was disqualified from driving for two years for both causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of drugs and he was ordered to take an extended retest.
A 43-year-old van driver who was over the cocaine limit mounted a
pavement and smashed into a pedestrian
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 714 |
| Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
| Uptime: | 137:18:55 |
| Calls: | 12,087 |
| Files: | 14,997 |
| Messages: | 6,517,386 |