Andrew Wilsea was killed when he was struck by Robert Hall’s Rover 45.
Hall was taking his daughter to the shops when he lost control of his car, hitting a kerb and colliding with Wilsea head-on. He had been travelling in excess of 70mph along the 50mph limit road, and when asked in court “Do you agree there is a significant difference between 50mph and 70mph when you are driving your car?” he reportedly replied, “Not in my perception, no.”
CCTV evidence showed Hall’s driving leading up to the collision, allowing investigators to conclude that he was driving at over 70mph for “about a minute” leading up to the crash. He was recorded by a bus’s CCTV camera overtaking another car shortly before the crash, while another camera showed him losing control, hitting the kerb and colliding. Multiple witnesses described Hall as driving “like an idiot”.
Wilsea’s bicycle was “embedded” in the side of Hall’s car.
Hall pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, but denied causing death by dangerous driving. However, in December 2016 he was found guilty and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Judge Tom Bayliss QC was critical in his summing up, saying Hall “showed no remorse” and that he was “quite sure that [Hall] lied to the police”.