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Jail for speeding driver who killed cyclist in Norwich

Aaron Evans was driving at almost twice the speed limit when he hit Ian Mooney, fatally injuring him

A driver who was travelling at almost twice the speed limit when he struck and killed a cyclist in Norwich has been jailed for 30 months.

Aaron Evans, appearing at Norwich Crown Court today, admitted causing the death of Ian Mooney by careless driving when he hit him on the city’s Aylsham Road on the afternoon of 3 April 2018.

Mr Mooney, aged 31, was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge but died there of catastrophic head injuries, reports the Eastern Daily Press.

Evans had been driving an Audi Q7 car at 55mph on the 30mph road when he hit the victim, the court was told.

Besides the prison sentence handed down to him, Evans, who also pleaded guilty to handling stolen vehicles worth £60,000 between May 2018 and May 2019, was banned from driving for five years.

Judge Katharine Moore said that the case was “a stark and tragic reminder of the dangers of speeding.”

In a victim impact statement, Mr Mooney’s sister Kerry Coleman said: “I feel very angry towards the driver of the vehicle that hit Ian.

“I feel disgust towards the manner of driving which left my brother unconscious with both his arms and wrists broken and massive trauma to his head.

“I would like to see justice served to the driver of the vehicle that hit Ian and make them realise the pain and suffering their actions have caused me and my family as a whole,” she added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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15 comments

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Projectcyclingf... | 4 years ago
0 likes

("The court heard that Evans had previous driving offences including some committed after the collision with Mr Mooney)"
Doesn't seem the court took this evidence of Evans being persistent danger to the public into account, having failed to apply a more severe punishment - certailnly, life bans may help many BoyGirlracers think twice before engaging in aggressive dangerous spped driving.

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Jenova20 | 4 years ago
3 likes

Judge Katharine Moore said that the case was “a stark and tragic reminder of the dangers of speeding.”

And yet the sentence you handed him is still pathetic.

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zero_trooper | 4 years ago
4 likes

Aside from the jail sentence length, what about the five year disqualification? 
Offences like this should start at a lifetime ban and then let the defendant contest it, if they can.

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Awavey | 4 years ago
6 likes

the driver was originally arrested on suspicion of drink driving, drug driving and dangerous driving following the crash, but it took more than 10months before charges were filed, in fact it may not even have resulted in a charge till sometime this year, so it would be interesting to know what had changed, not withstanding the "shambles" of the case Norfolk police made of the cyclist killed in Swannington also from 2018.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Awavey | 4 years ago
5 likes

It does seem wierd. Supposedly he has traffic offences recorded after the intial accident, and was on probation for probably the car offences. 

This article in Jan 2020 also states he wasn't charged for the crash in 2018. I also believe the other shambles caused this one to be looked at again as well.

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OnYerBike | 4 years ago
8 likes

A prison sentence is better than some that have been reported, but it's still pretty soft (especially considering the connection with stolen cars). It looks to me like this could meet the definition of unlawful act manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 years.

That said, I'm not generally in favour of lengthy custodial sentences (I think they are a huge cost to society and don't rehabilitate offenders but simply spit them out with no future prospects and a lot of criminal connections). But courts should be much more willing to hand out lifetime driving bans. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and those who cannot be trusted should not be allowed.

I think this should go hand-in-hand with improving facilities for active travel and public transport, so that being driving really is unnecessary, for both people who choose not to and for people who are not permitted to.

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Kendalred | 4 years ago
4 likes

Is it called the Criminal Justice System ironically?

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TheBillder | 4 years ago
13 likes

Which of the 30 months is for killing a human and are all the other 29 for the £60k of stolen car handling?

This is NOT “a stark and tragic reminder of the dangers of speeding.” This is deliberately exceeding the legal limits of the road (by a factor of almost two) with zero attention to the possible consequences.

We have to get away from these sentences that are a smack in the face for the relatives of the victims. In 30 months time their grief will still have the capacity to overwhelm at any moment. The driver will have been free for some time to go back to the day job of dealing dodgy motors.

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eburtthebike | 4 years ago
17 likes

The next twat who tells me that speeding doesn't kill is going to get a knuckle sandwich.  As others have said, exceeding the speed limit by 80% isn't careless, it is deliberate recklessness, and the sentence should reflect that, and  the driver should never be allowed to drive again, ever.

If this was any other field of human activity other than driving, the sentence would have been many times that, and they would have been banned from it for life, and not an eyelid would have been batted.  But it's driving, so your licence to kill will be returned soon.

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wycombewheeler replied to eburtthebike | 4 years ago
13 likes

eburtthebike wrote:

If this was any other field of human activity other than driving, the sentence would have been many times that, and they would have been banned from it for life, and not an eyelid would have been batted.  But it's driving, so your licence to kill will be returned soon.

If a medical practitioner makes a mistake that costs a life they can be struck off and prevented from working again, regardless how many other lives they have saved in the past or could save in the future.

While a driver who wantonly breaks driving rules with no regard to the consequences to others kills someone, they will be back behind the wheel soon. Providing no benefit to wider society.

I can't understand this.

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kil0ran | 4 years ago
20 likes

I just don't get it. How is almost double a 30mph speed limit not automatically dangerous driving? If speed limits are there for safety then driving at almost twice the maximum safe speed of the road has to be dangerous?

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Hirsute | 4 years ago
18 likes

How is 55 in a 30 careless? It also says
"Mr Ivory said trees and parked cars could have meant Mr Mooney and Evans did not seen each other until it was too late"
And that's the prosecution!
Driving at excessive speeds knowing you can't see seems dangerous to me.
But it is ok because
"Mr James said that Evans was remorseful and had fragile mental health."

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Doug.F. replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
2 likes

The speeding driver would have a" fragile neck",if there was justice.

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zero_trooper replied to Hirsute | 4 years ago
3 likes

Perhaps if his mental health is that fragile, then he shouldn't have been driving at all.

Would that be ever considered at a mental health assessment? Should they be driving? If they are that bad?

 

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Hirsute replied to zero_trooper | 4 years ago
0 likes

Reading around, his mental health is as a result of him killing someone 'carelessly'.

Although as he drove at 55 in a 30 clearly had issues at the time.

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