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news
Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgMotorist who killed 82-year-old cyclist had drunk a litre of vodka
A man from Gloucestershire who drove his car after drinking a litre of vodka and killed an 82-year-old cyclist has been jailed for six years.
Michael Burke, aged 39 and from King’s Stanley, was three times over the drink-driving limit and driving on the wrong side of the road when he struck Thelma Byard on 23 April this year, reports BBC News.
Mrs Byard, who had been cycling to visit her son when Burke hit her on Cainscross Road in Stroud, died in hospital from her injuries.
Gloucester Crown Court was told that Burke, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, could not remember the crash which happened as he drove between two pubs he owned.
He fled the scene and Mrs Byard was discovered by a police officer on patrol at around 4.50am.
Sentencing Burke, Judge Michael Cullum, who also banned him from driving for eight years, said: "Thelma Byard was 82 and described as sprightly and popular.
"One of the things she was known for was her cycling, which she did every day. She was in good health and enjoying life.
"She cared for others, including her son, and she was a popular mother, grandmother and indeed great grandmother.
"She was cycling on her own side of the road in a high-viz jacket and helmet when she had the misfortune in the early hours of the morning to meet you.
"You were driving entirely on the wrong side of the road. The street was well lit but it appears you didn't see her.
"You didn't see her because you shouldn't have been driving - because you were not fit to drive. You were exceptionally drunk from consuming a good litre plus of vodka."
Regarding Burke’s failure to stop, the judge said: "It was something which no humane person would do. You literally left Thelma Byard to die in the road.
"She didn't actually die in the road. The police and paramedics managed to prolong her life but she died some hours later. She was alive when you left her in the road.
"That is a decision you have to live with and for which, I accept, you are remorseful,” he added.
In a statement, Mrs Byard’s family spoke of the “huge void” that her death had left in their lives and said she had been “tragically taken away from us in a way that is unforgivable.
"She was often seen out and about on her bike and many people wished they could be doing the same when they reach 82.
"While to most people Thelma's death is another statistic, to her family and friends it is a brutal reality,” the statement continued.
“If someone gets into a car, you are in charge of a lethal weapon.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
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“Pandering to the few that don’t even pay to be on the roads” Do pepole really still say this and expect to be taken seriously?
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James Bond / Inspector Gadget ejector seats. Although being hit by a descending motorist doesn't sound good either...
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I have visited Guernsey and my wife goes there a few times a year for work. This act of premeditated violence shocks me. There are quite a lot of...
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15 comments
If you really want to kill someone just kill someone while you're on the bike. The judiciary will lock you up for a few years if you're unlucky but after that you can skip merrily out no bother.
I don’t know about the other contributors on here, but if I’d just drunk a litre of vodka I’m not convinced that I’d be able to work out how to even get into and start my car...
Too right! I can't remember the last time I had more than 1 litre of beer, let alone vodka! Mind you, I am an alcohol lightweight, partly because I'm only 66 kg
Even at uni my mates didn't drink as much as a litre of vodka.
But mah livelihoods!
Bah, should of thought of that before being a dick!
It is incomprehensible that anyone could consider that this man should ever be allowed to have a driving licence again. Surely he has clearly demonstrated that he should not be allowed behind the wheel of car.
It's my firm belief that anyone found to have caused another person's death through negligent driving should have a lifetime driving ban.
I'd go further and say that a temporary ban should also apply whilst the cause of the incident is investigated.
Seconded. Right, that's the road safety review sorted! Next?
Agreed except we shouldn't be saying "ban", but rather "revocation of licence" . Driving isn't a right, it's a privilege we have to earn, and that privilege is revocable.
Drinking driving is currently get worse, I’m sure in part due to the on going funding cuts to the police.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/09/d...
But it ok we’ll soon have a death by dangerous cycling offence so I’m sure the roads will be much safer.
He pleaded guilty so thats a third off, so in effect 9 years, what more would he have had to done to actually be sentenced to 9 years 4 months? That's the full tariff of 14 years with a 1/3 off for the plead. That he was incapable through drink, on the wrong side of the road, killed a great grandmother who was wearing hi viz and a helmet, and then drove off to leave her to die. I cannot fathom this. And if this is not a case where a lifetime ban could have been imposed, then I don't know what would be.
As far as I can tell, no one has recieved a life time driving ban since 2011. I'm happy to be corrected though.
Hang the feckless c**t. Complete waste of oxygen
.
Let me pull the lever !
Could not remember the crash - well possibly believable.
6 years for being pissed out of your head and not stopping.
Still, really important that death by dangerous cycling is being considered for review.