Crash death biker's widow says killer's sentence is no deterrent

The widow of a Brechin biker who was killed after a driver pulled out of a junction in front of him says others must learn from his "senseless" death.

Jon Marsh, 48, died at the scene of the crash on the B961 near Monikie, in Angus, in November 2022.

School teacher Angela Addis was ordered to carry out 140 hours of unpaid work after admitting causing Mr Marsh's death by careless driving.

Tracey Marsh condemned the sentence, saying it did not act as a deterrent.

Speaking outside Dundee Sheriff Court, she said: "Today the sheriff handed down a sentence for careless driving.

"Carelessness is forgetting where you placed your house keys, or letting a pan boil over.

"It is not the act of taking someone's life and shattering the world of those close to them."

Friends and family of Mr Marsh reacted angrily to the sentence inside the court and were reprimanded by Sheriff Gregor Murray.

Addis, 45, was also placed under supervision for a year and banned from driving for the same period.

The court heard that her position as a teacher was now "untenable."

Mr Marsh, who was an experienced motorcyclist, had been making his way home from Dundee at the time of the collision.

Despite having a clear view of 200 metres of road, Addis pulled out of the junction and turned into Mr Marsh's path.

Mr Marsh collided with Addis's rear driver door. She immediately stopped her car and passers-by came to offer help, but there was no response from Mr Marsh.

Mrs Marsh said: "Jon was an experienced and dedicated motorcyclist, I rode pillion with him for 15 years.

"He was a member of a motorcycling club, who took his riding seriously.

"But none of this mattered because a driver failed to look properly at a junction."

Mrs Marsh said she was haunted by the knock on her door by police following Jon's death, and the sight of her husband's body lying in the mortuary.

She said: "I question how a penalty of 140 hours of unpaid work acts as a deterrent to others or sends any sort of message about our collective responsibility for vulnerable road users.

"Poor driving has consequences and those on four wheels need to be reminded to take another look for those on two.

"If Jon's death is to mean anything, we must do more."

Addis's counsel David Nicolson, defending, said: "It is clear the repeated remorse, shame and guilt she feels, I don't seek at all to make Angela Addis the victim in all of this.

"She is not the victim. She has brought about the death of another human being. It's had a devastating impact on her and her family. She will never be the same woman again.

"She acknowledges the impact will be much greater for others and that others will never recover from this tragic incident. Her own post at school has become untenable because of what's been said by others and she feels she can't work there any longer."

Scottish government figures show 25 motorcyclists were killed in collisions in 2022, with 280 seriously injured.

A spokesperson for the Judicial Office for Scotland said: "When deciding upon a sentence, a judge will carefully consider the facts presented to the court both by the defence and by the prosecution, any relevant sentencing guidelines and a range of other matters relating to the detailed facts and circumstances of a particular case"