3 years for death smash driver on hands-free phone
A TEACHING assistant who killed a motorcyclist in a crash as she drove her car while having an “in-depth” conversation on a hands-free phone was jailed for three years yesterday.
Samantha Ayres, 34, had been talking for 27 minutes when she veered to the wrong side of the road and ploughed into devoted 26-year-old father David Kirk.
Ayres was convicted last week of causing death by dangerous driving after a jury decided she had been distracted.
Phone records showed she made four calls during her journey from work to her home in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, on November 7 last year and was still talking to a friend when she hit Mr Kirk.
Heartbreaking
Judge John Pini, who had adjourned sentence until yesterday, said at Lincoln Crown Court that her final call lasted 27 minutes and told her: “You were still making it at the time of the crash.
“You collided head-on with David Kirk and you were on the wrong side of the road. You were not paying attention properly to the road and to other road users.”
Ayres tried to claim a rear tyre of her Ford Fiesta had hit a verge, causing her to lose control. But accident investigators could find no evidence that her car had struck anything.
Judge Pini said the effect of the tragedy on Mr Kirk’s wife Katie, 26, and their two-year-old daughter Alyssa had been “utterly heartbreaking”. He added: “She and her husband had been married for five years and had all of the future to look forward to together. Your actions have left her without a husband and their daughter without a father.”
Ayres was banned from driving for four-and-a-half years and must take an extended retest.
She was using a hands-free phone system fitted to her car and paired to her mobile phone by Bluetooth. It is legal to use hands-free kits.
The judge said: “This is not a landmark case.” But the Highway Code warns using hands-free phones could be a distraction.
Afterwards widow Mrs Kirk, of Lincoln, said: “As a result of the driving of Mrs Ayres, our family has to live with this tremendous loss.” She plans to campaign for road safety.