Valerie Reed died when she was hit from behind by Leonard Pigram on a straight road with good visibility.
Pigram said at the scene that he had sneezed. In his plea statement he said, “although I thought I had room to sufficiently overtake, I should have allowed more room.”
Although Pigram’s eyesight was tested as being adequate for driving, he failed to read a number plate at 20 metres and voluntarily agreed that his licence should be revoked. He was given a six month suspended sentence and ordered to do 240 hours’ unpaid work and pay £800 costs.