A good(?) article on the VTTA facebook page (you should be able to look at it without a Facebook signon. We miss you Ray...
Here is the text, as I understand the link doesn't work for some.
Almost a year ago, 91 year old Ray Dare of the Kingston Phoenix Road
Club was killed as he approached the finishing line of the Group’s 10
mile event. On 15 June, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to
24 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, ordered to do 200 hours
of Community Service, and to undergo Restorative justice (when he speaks
to the victim’s family under supervision of the police liaison officer
if they wish to speak to him). He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months
The judge asked to be assured that Ray Dare’s family understood the
difference between this offence and the more serious offence of causing
death by dangerous driving and noted that Ray Dare’s family had written
to the court saying they did not wish “two families” lives to be wrecked
by the incident. The Judge praised Ray Dare’s family for taking such an
attitude and said they were obviously an exceptional and very decent
family although he would decide the sentence himself based on all the
circumstances.
The Judge took account of the Defendant’s early plea
of guilty, his genuine remorse and the fact that he was unlikely to
commit any similar offence again. He had been a professional driver for
many years and knew the area. The Judge stated that as a local judge
with a family of cyclists, he was personally aware that the A41 was
regularly used for such cycling events and they were invariably well
signed and marshalled and that on the evidence that was the case on the
day of the event in July 2017. Other witnesses had seen signs and
marshals and the Judge said that he was “astonished” that the Defendant,
when interviewed in August, said he had not seen any signs or marshals
despite having driven both ways on the dual carriageway. The Defendant
was seen by other drivers to pass at least one other rider just before
the collision and he claimed he had seen Ray Dare ahead of him when he
was close to the “rumble strip” but had failed to pull out. Other
witnesses spoke of Ray Dare riding well and steadily. The point of
impact was calculated by an expert as occurring approximately two metres
from the edge of the carriageway. The van driven by the Defendant had
struck the rider almost in the centre of the vehicle so the Defendant
had not moved out to allow room to pass the cyclist. The bicycle had
been trapped under the front of the vehicle which pulled off and stopped
in a layby, Ray Dare was thrown up onto the windscreen and over the
vehicle. Despite immediate assistance he died at the scene.
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