Jail for Boston driver who caused the death of a motorcyclist on A52 at Wyberton

A driver who caused the death of a motorcyclist when she drove straight into the back of him while listening to music in her car has been jailed for ten months.

Ruth Upsall, 28, was driving eastbound along the A52 near Wyberton when she failed to see Robert Hewitt, 64, who was indicating right into a minor road near his home.

The sound of the collision was heard by Mr Hewitt's wife of 40 years, Lynda Hewitt, who was in their garden just a few hundred yards away.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Mrs Hewitt was aware that her husband, known as Bob, was travelling home and checked his location on a phone tracking app.

Jon Dee, prosecuting, told the court as a result Mrs Hewitt went to the scene.

"Ultimately she saw her husband dead on the roadside," Mr Dee said.

The collision occurred at around 3.45pm on October 9 last year as Mr Hewitt stopped and indicated right into Fen Road.

"For some reason, which must have been inattention, the defendant failed to notice his presence and drove straight into the back of him," Mr Dee explained.

Mr Dee argued it must have been more than a momentary period of inattention.

"What was missed was a motorcycle that had stopped for some time with the indicator illuminated," Mr Dee added.

The court heard Upsall stopped at the scene but Mr Hewitt died from neck and head injuries despite the attendance of an air ambulance.

During her police interview Upsall said she did not see Mr Hewitt until he was a few car lengths away.

She claimed to have braked but there was no evidence of that on the road.

Mr Dee told the court: "There was music and she was singing along."

Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt's death by careless driving at her first court appearance.

A victim impact statement was read out in court by Mr Hewitt's widow.

She described her husband of over 40 years as her ‘soul mate’ and explained how they were married after just three weeks together.

Mrs Hewitt also described the horror of hearing the scraping metal noise of the crash from her garden and the approaching air ambulance.

"I had to lean down in the road to kiss my husband of over 40 years goodbye," Mrs Hewitt added.

Mrs Hewitt also read out a short impact statement from the couple's son, Josh.

He explained how his father spent many hours helping him to ride a bike, learning to walk and playing with model trains.

"My dad was a true dad, always there for me," he said.

Mr Dee said testimonials from ‘around the world’ had also been submitted on Mr Hewitt's behalf.

Neil Sands, mitigating for Upsall, said she was a young woman who had spent her working life helping people who had suffered trauma, and argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.

"This will never, ever leave her," Mr Sands added.

Passing sentence today (September 26) Recorder John Philpotts told Upsall that although speed was not a factor in the collision he could not overlook the fact that she had a previous conviction for speeding.

Recorder Philpotts said: "Mr Hewitt signalled his intention in plenty of time, an independent witness made that plain.

"You were simply not concentrating properly and failed to see Mr Hewitt.

"You told police you were listening to music in your car."

Upsall was also banned from driving for 17 months.