A MOTORCYCLIST was killed by a car driver “singing along” to music before his widow kissed him goodbye on the roadside.
Lynda Hewitt found husband Robert Hewitt dead after hearing horrifying sounds which turned out to be the car ploughing into his bike just yards from their home.
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She was aware he was travelling back and checked a phone tracking app to confirm his whereabouts after hearing the crash while doing the gardening.
Driver Ruth Upsall, 28, had driven straight into the back of Mr Hewitt’s motorcycle without seeing him, reports the MailOnline.
The 64-year-old victim was indicating right onto a minor road off the A52 at Frampton Fen in Lincolnshire.
In a victim impact statement Mrs Hewitt told Lincoln Crown Court last week: “I had to lean down in the road to kiss my husband of over 40 years goodbye.”
Prosecutor Jon Dee said Mrs Hewitt rushed to the scene after checking the app, and found her husband dead at the roadside.
The incident happened at around 3.45pm on October 9 2023.
Mr Dee argued that it must have been more than momentary inattention that led to the crash as the motorcycle had “stopped for some time with the indicator illuminated”.
Upsall stopped at the scene but Mr Hewitt had suffered fatal neck and head injuries.
During a police interview Upsall said she didn’t see Mr Hewitt until she was a few car lengths away.
She claimed she braked by there was no evidence of this on the road, the court heard.
Mr Dee said: “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.
Mrs Hewitt read out her victim impact statement describing her husband, known as Bob, as her “soul mate” and explained how they were married after just three weeks together.
She also described the horror of hearing the scraping metal noise of the crash and the air ambulance approaching.
Upsall is a recovery worker for a mental health charity and has a masters degree in forensic psychology.
Neil Sands, defending, argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.
“This will never, ever leave her,” he added.
Recorder John Philpotts jailed her for 10 months on Thursday.
He said speed was not a factor in the crash but that he couldn’t overlook her previous unrelated conviction for speeding.
Jailing Upsall for months on Thursday, 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.
He told her she was “simply not concentrating properly”.
Upsall was also banned from driving for 17 months.
