Driver spared jail for killing mum in inexplicable crash
TRAGIC VICTIM’S FAMILY SAY SHE WAS A ‘DAUGHTER IN A MILLION’
A MUM out cycling was killed after a Range Rover driver inexplicably collided with her.
Louise Harrott, 43, was riding along Huddersfield Road in Oldham when a black Range Rover moved across her path as it turned onto Stamford Road.
Ms Harrott, from Dukinfield, who was wearing a helmet and full cycling equipment at the time, was then hit by the car. She suffered ‘major’ injuries which proved fatal.
Patricia Goulden, the driver of the Range Rover, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving at Manchester magistrates court. She was spared jail and was ordered to do unpaid work.
“The consequences of your actions will remain with Louise’s family and friends forever,” District Judge Mark Hadfield told Goulden, 52. “Of course you will have to live with the consequences of your actions.
“This tragic accident was caused by a lapse of concentration by you. However there is no explanation or reason why you failed to see Louise.”
Ms Harrott’s devastated mother Doreen McGivern movingly revealed her grief at the loss of her eldest child and ‘best friend,’ who leaves behind her 17-year-old son.
She was a dedicated cyclist and was a member of the Saddleworth Clarion Cycling Club. “My beautiful daughter Louise died doing the thing she loved,” her mum said. “But no greater love had she than the love for her family. She was my rock. She was a daughter in a million. If I were to list all the loving and caring things she had done for us all in her short life, I would be reading this forever.” She described how her daughter had a love for music and singing as a child and attended the Oldham Theatre Workshop. Law graduate Ms Harrott had worked in administration at Manchester College, and worked in the family business running Dukinfield hotel Barton Villa.
Defending, Peter Grogan said Goulden has a ‘deep sense of remorse’ and regret over what happened on Wednesday, March 24, last year. She was familiar with the road and at the time was driving from Royton to her home in Springhead.
He said Goulden, who now lives in North Wales, had displayed a ‘momentary lapse of concentration’ and described the incident as ‘inexplicable.’
She has been driving for 30 years and other than three penalty points when she was aged 21, has had a clean record, Mr Grogan said.
The judge accepted her remorse was genuine. He sentenced her to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Goulden, of Fron Park Road, Holywell, North Wales, was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for two years.