‘Right to drop death charges’
Prosecutors have said dropping legal proceedings against a driver involved in the death of cyclist Stuart Price was the “appropriate decision”.
Lisa Maher denied causing death by careless driving after her vehicle collided with Sunderland Royal Hospital worker Stuart Price as he rode his bike on Colliery Lane, Easington Lane, in February 2017.
The 50-year-old, from Western Terrace in Murton – Stuart’s home village – had been due to stand trial starting on Monday.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told Newcastle Crown Court that it had dropped the charges against her.
Prosecutor Jolyon Perks told the court there was “no realistic prospect of conviction in this case.”
He also said: “This was an incident which is perhaps best described as an unfortunateandterribleaccident.”
The CPS met with Stuart’s family days before the hearing to explain the decision.
His mum Deborah Dobie, 54, had appealed against the decision twice as she called for the prosecution to press ahead.
She said: “As a family we have to accept their decision, but it’s obviously not what we wanted.”
She added it had helped bring them some closure two years on from the collision. Stuart, who worked in the medical records department of the Kayall Road hospital, also left stepdad John, 67, dad Stuart, 61, and stepmum Marion, brother James, 24, and sister Jade, 30.
A CPS spokesperson said: “To prove an offence of causing death by careless driving, it must be demonstrated that the standard of driving on the part of a defendant has fallen below that which should be expected of a competent road user.
“In this case the police collision investigation, which was hampered by the absence of reliable independent witnesses, was unable to establish the relative positions of the car and bicycle in the moments prior to the crash.”