DRIVER SWERVED DURING ROW AND KILLED CYCLIST
JAIL FOR 36-YEAR-OLD WHO CAUSED DAD OF TWO’S DEATH WHEN HE DELIBERATELY VEERED ACROSS ROAD TO SCARE GIRLFRIEND
A DRIVER swerved “violently” on to the wrong side of the road during an argument with his girlfriend and killed a cyclist.
Newport Crown Court heard Eurico Costa, 36, lost his temper and tore down a sun visor before deliberately veering across the road intending to scare his partner.
Judge Daniel Williams described his driving as “horrendously dangerous”.
He said: “A vibrant life brought so needlessly to an end in these circumstances causes sorrow and grief which is incalculable and unimaginable to those who have not suffered it.”
Costa was driving a black Ford Focus at the time of the collision on the B4258 Pencisely Road in Llandaff, Cardiff, just before 1.50pm on October 6 last year. Cyclist Paul Garrett, 55, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, where he died later that day.
James Wilson, prosecuting, said: “He was cycling on Pencisely Road when the defendant collided with him and knocked him off his bike.”
The court heard witnesses described an “aggressive piece of driving” in which the defendant swerved on to the wrong side of the road and mounted the pavement.
Stephen Harrington was driving a BMW to work when he came up behind the cyclist and saw the Ford Focus driving in the other direction.
He said: “As [the car] came up the hill it swerved on to my side of the road. It was quite a violent swerve. All I can remember is [the car] speeding up and then a big bang. I remember something flying in the air.”
He told the court he saw the car coming towards him head-on and steered to avoid it but it clipped his car.
Sergeant Ben Davies witnessed the collision and described the defendant’s driving as “extremely aggressive”. He described hearing the car’s wheels spinning.
He added: “He hit the cyclist up into the air. It looked like about 10ft high.”
The court heard Mr Garrett landed on the pavement in front of the BMW.
Witnesses reported hearing Costa’s girlfriend and passenger Iola Waters say “I told you to stop” and “why did you do that?”. Another heard: “What have you done? Oh my God, what have you done?”
A doctor who was at the scene looked after Mr Garrett until paramedics arrived and noted his head was bleeding. He was taken to A&E at the University Hospital of Wales where doctors found he was in cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 3.20pm.
The defendant was arrested 10 minutes later on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
At the scene he told a police officer he was talking to his girlfriend about their relationship and accepted: “I took my attention off the road.”
He was given a roadside breath test which confirmed he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In a subsequent interview Costa told officers the sun was in his eyes and he could “barely see”.
The defendant said he grabbed the sun visor, which came away in his hand, and before he knew what had happened he was on the wrong side of the road. Forensic investigator PC Christopher Street found the sun was coming from the left and prosecutors argued the sun visor would not have been necessary.
Cafe worker Costa told the court: “Everything happened in seconds.”
He accepted he felt upset and frustrated by his conversation with his girlfriend but denied being angry and deliberately swerving on to the wrong side of the road. Ms Waters accepted he was “annoyed” but told the court they were not arguing.
Costa, from Northlands in Rumney, Cardiff, admitted causing death by dangerous driving but he submitted a basis of plea, which was not accepted by the Crown, and had a trial of issue.
Mr Wilson said the prosecution did not accept the basis of plea because it was at odds with eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence from the scene. Prosecutors alleged the defendant was having an argument with his girlfriend and pulled the visor off “in temper” then deliberately drove across the road in anger to scare her.
Judge Williams rejected the basis of plea and sentenced him on the prosecution’s version of events.
Cora Sorensen, defending, said Costa had no previous convictions and had a full clean driving licence. She added: “He would love to turn back the clock but he has to live with the enormity of the devastation he has caused.”
Sentencing, Judge Williams said: “The criminal investigation into this offence has focused on you and your driving that afternoon. It is time that the court focuses on the victim of your driving. [Mr Garrett] was a loving son and brother and a devoted husband of 36 years to his wife Karen and a prized father to his two boys.”
Judge Williams added: “The terrible truth here is that you did this to scare your girlfriend or to force from her an answer to your grievances.”
The public gallery was full for the hearing, which lasted all day. The judge praised Mr Garrett’s family and friends for their “quiet dignity”.
He told Costa: “No sentence can undo the harm you have done. This was a short-lived, but horrendously dangerous, piece of driving. The sentence which I am about to pass will feel to many to be inadequate. I would feel the same if I were them.”
Costa was jailed for four and a half years and will serve half in prison before being released on licence. He was disqualified from driving for five years from the time of his release.