Suspended sentence for driver who killed cyclist

A nurse who killed a cyclist after “a few seconds of bad driving” has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Adrian Lane, 58, was killed in September 2022 when he hit a car that was turning as it travelled along Ringinglow Road towards Sheffield.

The driver of the car, Gillian Dungworth, 40, from Rotherham, swerved into Mr Lane’s path, causing him to overturn and hit the windscreen of the vehicle, the court heard.

On Friday at Sheffield Crown Court, Dungworth was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.

Dungworth was driving her Vauxhall Corsa on Ringinglow Road and was behind two other cars turning right into Common Lane when the collision occurred.

Dashcam footage from Dungworth’s car, which was played in court, shows Mr Lane smashing into the windscreen, causing him serious injuries.

Mr Lane, who was believed to be travelling at around 30mph downhill, was not wearing a helmet.

“Tragic accident”

The court was told that a car accident expert testified that Dungworth saw Mr Lane for about four seconds before the crash.

A camera in another vehicle showed Dungworth running from the car “obviously in a state of distress” while Mr Lane lay on the ground, said Sheffield magistrate Jeremy Richardson KC.

“It’s a few seconds of distraction, isn’t it?” Judge Richardson asked prosecutor Ian West, who replied: “Yes.”

The court heard that Louise Lane, Mr Lane’s former partner and mother of their children, had written to the Crown Prosecution Service that the family believed it was a “tragic accident”.

They added that no one was to blame for the accident and “they had no bad feelings or malice towards the driver of the car.”

Judge Richardson said the case was “tragic”, describing Dungworth as a “respectable” woman who “driven very badly for a few seconds”.

The defendant, of Marlowe Road, Herringthorpe, wiped away tears as the judge said she felt “sincere remorse” for what had happened.

He added that a two-year suspended sentence and a five-year driving ban were proportionate.

“This is a tragedy in every possible way. You caused this tragedy with a few seconds of bad, bad driving,” the judge concluded.

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