Phone driver who sent two WhatsApp messages seconds before killing cyclist in “prolonged episode of bad driving” set to serve one year in prison

A motorist who crashed into and killed a cyclist, moments after typing and sending two messages on her phone, accessing Facebook, and veering onto the grass verge in what prosecutors described as a “prolonged episode of bad driving”, is set to spend just one year in jail.

Nicole McGeown was handed a two-year prison sentence at Craigavon Crown Court on Friday for causing the death of cyclist Ronald Walker five years ago, with judge Patrick McGurgan ruling that that she will serve half of her term on licence, while also imposing a four-year driving ban.

57-year-old father-of-two Walker was cycling on the A3 Lisburn Road towards Moira, Co. Down, on 26 March 2020 when he was fatally struck from behind by McGeown, who was driving a Seat Leon, at around 5.45pm, knocking him to the side of the road and sending his bike flying over a hedge.

Despite the efforts of police and paramedics who rushed to his aid, Walker was tragically pronounced dead at the scene, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

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During his sentencing remarks today, the judge noted that the first Covid lockdown in March 2020 meant that traffic was “exceptionally light” on the road. However, despite the weather being clear, a distracted McGeown failed to see the cyclist before crashing into him.

Judge McGurgan outlined in court that in the 40 seconds before the fatal impact, the 31-year-old motorist had typed out and sent two WhatsApp messages on her phone.

Emphasising that McGeown “would have to have typed these,” the judge added that in the moments before the collision, she was also paying more attention to a driver who had overtaken her instead of the road ahead, and had been driving erratically.

McGurgan told the court that while the prosecution submits that “this was a prolonged episode of bad driving… which resulted in the tragic loss of life,” he believed that “this was more than the use of a mobile phone”.

“You were texting while driving, you veered into the verge twice, and your manner of driving and using the phone continued for a period of time,” the judge told the driver, adding that “this was not a momentary lapse.”

According to another motorist who was following McGeown and Walker on the road – and had just overtaken the pair before the fatal crash – the 31-year-old had veered across and almost off the road on two occasions, and even “kicked up dust” from the grass verge.

The witness also said that, despite being behind McGeown, he could see the cyclist clearly ahead on the road.

He told police that he overtook McGeown and the cyclist but, as drove ahead of them, “a flash of movement” in his mirror caught his attention, prompting him to turn back. He then found McGeown sitting in the driver’s seat of her car on the phone to the emergency services.

“He asked the defendant if she had been texting, but she denied it,” the judge told the court yesterday.

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While being questioned by police, McGeown denied that she had been using her phone at the wheel, claiming that she had used the phone just once when she was sitting stationary at a junction, and said she “could not explain why” she had failed to see the cyclist.

However, CCTV footage obtained by the police proved that she was using her phone while driving that evening. After seizing her phone, officers were then able to establish that, in the five minutes before the collision, McGeown used it to access Facebook, read two text messages that she had received, and type out and send two messages.

A message she received at 5.46pm was not read “and it is believed that the accident occurred around this time”, the judge said.

Meanwhile, a forensic engineer conducted a reconstruction which established that McGeown would have had a 400-metre view ahead at the time of the crash, and that a cyclist would have been visible from 180 metres.

McGeown was questioned again by police a year later and confronted with the “overwhelming evidence”, but continued to deny using her phone, insisting instead that she was simply “distracted” by the driver who had just overtaken her.

The 31-year-old had initially been charged with causing death by careless driving, but after reviewing the evidence the Public Prosecution Service opted to increase the severity of the charge to causing death by careless driving.

In June 2024, McGeown initially pleaded not guilty, before eventually admitting her guilt later that year.

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Judge McGurgan told the court today that while her admission was a mitigating factor in his sentencing, along with her clear record and remorse, the time taken to come to this conclusion “had caused a high degree of harm” to Mr Walker’s family.

The judge also told McGeown that despite the impact a prison sentence would have on her two young children, “this offence is so serious” that there was an “overriding need to deter others”, meaning that “it can only be met by an immediate custodial sentence”.

The 31-year-old was handed a two-year prison sentence, half of which she will spend on licence, and banned from driving for four years.

The judge told the court while he would not “trespass or compound” the grief and hurt felt by Mr Walker’s family, he noted that he had read the “heartfelt and powerful” impact statement written by his sister.

“He didn’t get to see his daughter’s graduation, didn’t get to walk her down the aisle, and won’t get to do the same with his other daughter, and he won’t get to hold his grandchildren,” McGurgan said, arguing that any kind of sentence “will not turn the clock back.”