Heartbroken mum of cyclist, 29, crushed to death by a lorry says she is relieved driver was spared jail
Sharon Brown said judge was right not to send Adam Haywood, 30, to prison, saying 'there are no winners'
THE heartbroken mum of a cyclist crushed to death by a lorry after the driver failed to look in his mirrors or indicate has said she is “relieved” the driver was spared jail.
The cyclist had stopped at traffic lights and rode straight ahead when they turned green 17 seconds later.
Haywood turned left across her path, striking her rear wheel.
He sobbed in the dock as he was spared jail despite being convicted of causing death by careless driving, sentenced instead to eight months suspended.
Speaking after the trial, Louise’s mum Sharon Brown said the judge had made the right decision.
She said: “I feel so empty and alone.
“The only thing I can do for my daughter is make sure she has fresh flowers on her headstone.
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“I struggle every day, I cannot stop thinking how one moment in time has changed my life forever.
“One short moment has caused so much pain and destroyed my life forever.
“I will not experience the joy of being a grandma which is something I had been looking forward to for a long time.
“Louise had told me that she and her partner James had spoken about getting married and having children.
“I remember she told me she hoped she would have a girl because she wanted the same relationship with her as we did together.
“It as the best compliment I could have wished for and I feel heartbroken that this will never happen.
“I feel that the right verdict has been made, we did not want to see the driver sent to prison.
“When something as tragic as this happens, there are no winners.”
Derby crown court heard Louise was killed "almost instantaneously" as her bike was pulled under the light goods vehicle and dragged along the road on 3 July 2014.
The tragedy happened after Haywood stopped at red lights in Lower Parliament Street in Nottingham in a lane in where you could carry straight on or turn left.
The court heard Haywood "failed to observe" Louise as she rode up and stopped for 17 seconds alongside him at the traffic lights before she set off.
Prosecutor Martin Hurst said: "He failed to respond to the collision as quickly as he should have done.
"At some stage she became separated from the pedal cycle and the wheels of the lorry went over her.
"The only mercy that can be taken from it is that she died almost instantaneously. Her injuries were extremely grievous.
"His driving was a cause of her death, the prosecution say. He was not indicating to turn left.
"In riding her pedal cycle along the nearside she had placed herself in a vulnerable position.
"Notwithstanding that the defendant still had a duty to indicate his intention. Someone in that lane can either go straight on or left."
The court heard that Louise had been wearing a "highly visible" gold and black checked helmet.
Mr Hurst said lorries had a number of mirrors in their cabs to help the driver see around the vehicle.
He added: "There's a mirror to allow the driver to look and see what is immediately alongside of him.
"The prosecution say the way these mirrors are set up there is no blind spot.
"And it is not the case that it was a manoeuvre he had to engage in in a rush."
The court heard how police went back to the scene nine days after the crash and recreated the incident with the indicator on at the same junction.
Mr Hurst said officers found it was possible to see the difference when they compared it to CCTV footage of the fatal crash.
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