Woman jailed for motorcyclist crash death

A driver who caused the death of a motorcyclist when she drove into the back of him has been jailed for 10 months.

Ruth Upsall, 28, was driving eastbound along the A52 near Wyberton on 9 October when she failed to see Robert Hewitt, 64, who was indicating right into a minor road near his home.

Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt's death by careless driving at her first court appearance and was sentenced earlier at Lincoln Crown Court.

Neil Sands, mitigating for Upsall, said she was a young woman who had spent her working life helping people who had suffered trauma, and argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Lynda Hewitt, Mr Hewitt's wife of 40 years, was aware that her husband, known as Bob, was travelling home and checked his location on a phone tracking app.

The sound of the collision was heard by Mrs Hewitt, who was in their garden just a few hundred yards away.

Jon Dee, prosecuting, told the court Mrs Hewitt went to the scene to see what had happened.

"Ultimately she saw her husband dead on the roadside," Mr Dee said.

The collision occurred as Mr Hewitt stopped and indicated right into Fen Road.

During her police interview, Upsall said she did not see Mr Hewitt until he was a few car lengths away.

The court heard Mr Hewitt died from neck and head injuries despite the attendance of an air ambulance.

A victim impact statement was read out in court by Mr Hewitt's widow.

She described her husband as her "soul mate" and explained how they were married after just three weeks together.

Mrs Hewitt also described the horror of hearing the scraping metal noise of the crash from her garden and the approaching air ambulance.

"I had to lean down in the road to kiss my husband of over 40 years goodbye," Mrs Hewitt added.

Passing sentence, Recorder John Philpotts told Upsall that although speed was not a factor in the collision, he could not overlook the fact that she had a previous conviction for speeding.

Recorder Philpotts said: "Mr Hewitt signalled his intention in plenty of time, an independent witness made that plain.

"You were simply not concentrating properly and failed to see Mr Hewitt."

In addition to her custodial sentence, Upsall was also banned from driving for 17 months.

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