A woman found her husband dead on the side of the road after hearing the sound of a car crashing into her motorcycle just a few hundred meters away.
A court heard Lynda Hewitt knew her husband of 40 years, Robert, was traveling home and checked his whereabouts on a phone tracking app after hearing the sickening noise of scraping metal while working in her garden.
In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Mrs Hewitt said: “I had to bend down on the road to kiss my husband of more than 40 years goodbye,” Mrs Hewitt added.
The tragic chain of events was outlined at the sentencing hearing of driver Ruth Upsall, 28, who crashed directly into the back of Mr Hewitt’s motorbike while “singing” music.
Robert Hewitt, or Bob as he was known to his friends and family, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding was struck from behind by a Suzuki car. Hewitt was found dead on the road by his wife
Ruth Upsall, 28, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt’s death by reckless driving at her first court appearance.
A court heard the motorist had inexplicably failed to see the 64-year-old motorcyclist signaling right on the A52 in Lincolnshire to turn onto a minor road near his home in Frampton Fen.
Jon Dee, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that after checking the tracking app, Mrs Hewitt went to her husband’s location at the scene of the accident.
“She finally saw her husband dead on the side of the road,” Dee said.
The collision occurred at around 3.45pm on October 9 last year when Mr Hewitt stopped and indicated right onto Fen Road.
“For some reason, which must have been inattention, the defendant was unaware of his presence and collided directly into him,” Mr Dee explained.
Dee argued that it must have been more than a momentary period of inattention.
“What was lost was a motorcycle that had been stopped for some time with the turn signal on,” he added.
The court heard Upsall stopped at the scene but Hewitt died from neck and head injuries despite the assistance of an air ambulance.
During her police interview, Upsall, a recovery worker for a mental health charity who has a master’s degree in forensic psychology, said she did not see Mr Hewitt until he was a few cars away.
She claimed to have braked but there was no evidence of it on the road.
Mr Dee told the court: “There was music and she was singing.”
Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt’s death by careless driving at his first court appearance.
Mrs Hewitt read her victim impact statement in which she described her husband, known as Bob, as her “soulmate” and explained how they married after just three weeks together.
Mrs Hewitt also described the horror of hearing the screech of metal from the crash from her garden and the approaching air ambulance.
Dee said testimony had also been submitted from “all over the world” on Hewitt’s behalf.
Neil Sands, mitigating for Upsall, said she was a young woman who had spent her working life helping people who had suffered trauma and argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.
“This will never, ever leave her,” Sands added.
Jailing Upsall for ten months on Thursday, Recorder John Philpotts told Upsall that although speed was not a factor in the collision, he could not overlook the fact that she had a previous conviction for speeding.
Recorder Philpotts said: “Mr Hewitt signaled his intention in good time, an independent witness made this clear.”
He just didn’t care and couldn’t see Mr. Hewitt.
“You told the police you were listening to music in your car.”
Upsall, from Boston, Lincolnshire, was also banned from driving for 17 months.
