Lorry driver admits causing cyclist's death in Carlisle

A lorry driver has again admitted death by careless driving - after his previous plea was not recorded, meaning he was initially not convicted.

Neil Gass struck 71-year-old cyclist Mike Seminara on the A689 Carlisle bypass roundabout in March 2018.

Gass was cleared of death by dangerous driving in 2020. He had admitted the lesser charge but it was not recorded.

The 47-year-old admitted the new charge and was given an interin driving ban until his sentencing on 1 July.

Gass's legal team had argued he should not be convicted following the mix-up.

But ruling against them, Judge Nicholas Barker said the failure to register his plea was an "omission" and the delay it caused was "extremely regrettable".

But he said: "It cannot be considered to be of such an extreme extent that the defendant should not be held responsible for the criminal act of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving to which he has accepted his guilt."

Gass, who had been driving a lorry towing a trailer loaded with logs, went on trial at Carlisle Crown Court in January 2020 accused of causing death by dangerous driving and was acquitted by a jury.

During that hearing, Gass accepted making a "careless assumption" in a "split second" that Mr Seminara, of Wetheral, Cumbria, was planning to take the second roundabout exit instead of the third.

Giving evidence at the time, he agreed with the prosecution's claim that the standard of his driving "fell below that of a careful and competent driver".

Gass, of Prior Avenue, Canonbie, in Dumfries and Galloway, told jurors he was "so sorry" and "absolutely devastated".

"That will live with me for the rest of my life, that decision," he said. "That's something I will never get over. I won't."

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