Bridgend: Jeep driver who killed cyclist gets suspended sentence

A former HGV driver has been given a nine-month suspended sentence and banned from driving for seven years for killing a cyclist on a main road.

Raymond Treharne, 74, was driving his 4x4 Grand Cherokee Jeep in Bridgend on 29 May 2020 when he hit David Jones.

Father-of-two Mr Jones, 41, died at the scene from a serious head injury.

Treharne, of Kenfig Hill, Bridgend, was previously found guilty of causing death by careless driving following a trial.

Swansea Crown Court previously heard how Mr Jones was thrown into the air during the collision at 5.50am GMT and died at the scene from a serious head injury.

The trial was told there was no evidence the driver had applied his brakes or swerved before the crash on the A48 in Bridgend.

On Monday, Mr Jones' father, Tony Jones, referred to Treharne's action in a victim impact statement read out in court.

The statement said: "My son was out cycling, doing something he loved, and did nothing wrong. You (Treharne) were to blame.

"If you would have taken responsibility, we could have had some closure sooner. But you hid behind vagueness and slowed the process down and added to our pain.

"We are left with a life of pain and sorrow."

A statement from the mother of Mr Jones' children, Michelle Crocker, was also read to the court.

"Our eldest is now 10-years-old and is autistic and needs structure to his days, but his world changed overnight," she said.

"He went to bed and Daddy was safe, but woke up and Daddy was gone.

"He often asks when he sees his friends with their dads, why his died so young. But I have no answers.

"Our seven-year-old daughter, talks about her dad all the time, she looks up to the sky and sees the brightest star and says, "that's Daddy."

"Telling the children their father had died was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Helen Randall, defending, described Treharne as "a man who made a career through driving for over 50 years".

She said: "He stopped driving after the collision and working for the first time in 50 years."

Sentencing Treharne, Judge Catherine Richards said: "Mr Jones was an experienced cyclist and was not to blame at all.

"No sentence can reflect the pain and distress the family have been, and are, going through.

"The light and conditions that day may have made it more difficult to see Mr Jones, but after hearing expert and forensic evidence, the driver would have seen him for at least seven seconds.

"If you would have been paying attention you would have seen him."

Treharne was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and banned from driving for seven years.