Suspended sentence for death crash driver

A driver who caused the death of a Black Country cyclist in a crash which had no obvious cause has been given a suspended jail sentence and a two-year ban.

Father-of-two David Coldicott, aged 61, died instantly from multiple injuries when he was struck by a car as he cycled along the A491 M5 feeder road at Belbroughton, near Stourbridge.

Mr Coldicott, of Mendip Road, Halesowen, had been overtaken by a Land Rover and trailer before the Micra ran over him.

The driver had shown a catastrophic lack of care and there was no obvious explanation, said Mr Paul Whitfield, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court. Rebecca Key was driving well within the 50mph speed limit on a bright Saturday afternoon last July.

There were no faults on her Nissan Micra.

Key, aged 23, of Bramble Close, Nuneaton, who pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months. Her not guilty plea to causing death by dangerous driving was accepted.

She was also given a community order and required to do 200 hours of unpaid work. She was disqualified for two years and ordered to pay £229 costs.

Key, who was returning from a holiday, said she first saw the cyclist when he was 10 to 15 metres in front of her. She braked hard and tried to swerve but could not avoid a collision.

She denied she had fallen asleep at the wheel although her partner was asleep in the passenger seat.

In an impact statement by Mr Coldicott's widow Susan, she told how she and the family missed her husband of 42 years. He so much wanted to see his young granddaughter growing up.

Mr Brian Dean, defending, said Key had accepted responsibility for the accident from the start.

She came from an impeccable family and her father had recently returned from Afghanistan. She had not driven since the accident.

Judge Julia Macur said there was no question of Key being a racer. Neither was she distracted by drugs, alcohol or technical gadgets. She felt that Key must have been distracted as she could not recall seeing the cyclist being overtaken.