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Speeding driver and biker jailed over woman's death in Bathgate crash

BBC Fiona ReidBBC
Fiona Reid was entirely blameless for the crash in July 2020

A biker and a car driver whose "grossly excessive" speeds resulted in a fatal pile-up in West Lothian have each been jailed for more than four years.

Ashley Sadler, 41, reached 118 mph on a Honda Fireblade motorbike and Daniel De Monerri, 38, drove his Volkswagen Golf at 90mph on the A7066 at Bathgate.

Audi driver Fiona Reid, 37, from nearby Seafield, died in the five-vehicle crash in July 2020.

Sadler and De Monerri both admitted causing her death by dangerous driving.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Weir told the pair their speeding had "catastrophic consequences" and caused the death of a mother-of-one who was "entirely blameless".

The judge said: "No sentence I can pass can ever compensate for the loss of a loved one."

The court heard that Sadler and De Monerri, both from Livingston, West Lothian, had repeatedly switched lanes and drove in close proximity to each other and other drivers.

Before the collision another driver had pulled out onto the right-hand lane of the dual carriageway to allow the Ms Reid to enter from a slip road.

Sadler's motorbike struck the car in the right-hand lane and De Monerri hit another motorcycle before losing control and crashing into Ms Reid's Audi.

Google A7066Google
Ashley Sadler reached 118 mph and Daniel De Monerri drove at 90mph on the A7066 at Bathgate

Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC said Ms Reid left behind a husband and daughter - who was seven years old at the time of her death.

He added: "The force of the collision resulted in Fiona Reid's seat to be broken and she was propelled backwards suffering a catastrophic head injury from which she died."

Defence counsel Tony Lenehan KC said that Sadler, a production manager, was "a decent, hard-working, family man devastated to know he played a part in the loss of another person's life".

Solicitor advocate Ewen Roy, for engineer De Monerri, said that he accepted that if he had been travelling "at a safe and normal speed" this accident would not have happened.

Lord Weir jailed the pair and banned Sadler from driving for 87 months and banned De Monerri for 80 months.