The father of a cyclist killed by a driver who didn’t brake or swerve before a fatal crash has branded the decision to spare the man jail a “farce”. Tony Jones’s son David died at the scene after he was struck on the A48 in Bridgend, South Wales, at 5.50am on May 27, 2020. A dad of two boys, aged 10 and seven, Mr Jones was struck by a Grand Jeep Cherokee driven by Raymond Treharne, aged 74.
At a trial at Swansea Crown Court in March the court was told there was no evidence former HGV driver Treharne had applied his brakes or swerved before impact.
The trial heard that Treharne had at least “seven seconds” when he could have paid attention to Mr Jones cycling on the road. Treharne was given a nine-month suspended sentence and a seven-year driving ban for causing death by careless driving.
Speaking to the BBC Mr Jones’s father Tony, from Pencoed, Bridgend, said he “couldn’t believe what he was hearing” when the sentence was passed last month.
He told the channel the sentence was “a real farce” and felt the judge was “too lenient”.
He said: “Seven seconds is a long time when you think about it. It’s long enough to react and obviously, he didn’t. I couldn’t believe he just walked.
“Driving a car is like having a knife in your hand, it’s a dangerous weapon and if you kill somebody you should get made to pay for it. He just hasn’t, he’s walked away free.”
Keir Gallagher, campaigns manager for Cycling UK, said the sentencing in the case was indicative of the UK’s “broken road traffic laws”.
He said: “Failing to spot another road user for almost 10 seconds before crashing into and killing them is clearly a dangerous act, yet our broken road traffic laws mean Raymond Treharne was merely charged with causing death by careless driving.”
Sentencing guidelines state the maximum sentence for causing death by careless driving is five years, but causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum of life imprisonment.
