WISBECH: Lorry driver in crash that killed man of 82 is fined £750

A LORRY driver involved in a fatal road accident on the Freedom Bridge roundabout in Wisbech has admitted careless driving. Eighty-two-year-old Leonard Lock died after he was knocked off his bicycle by the Volvo lorry, Fenland magistrates heard. The lorry

A LORRY driver involved in a fatal road accident on the Freedom Bridge roundabout in Wisbech has admitted careless driving.

Eighty-two-year-old Leonard Lock died after he was knocked off his bicycle by the Volvo lorry, Fenland magistrates heard.

The lorry driver, 74-year-old Stanley Stearman, was banned from driving for a year and fined £750 with £85 costs and a £15 surcharge.

Prosecuting, Sylvia Cundell said the accident happened around 11.45am on August 29 last year.

"There is no suggestion that Mr Lock was riding in anything but a perfectly proper manner," she said.

Mr Lock had ridden out of Lynn Road on to the roundabout, along with a postman on a bicycle, and a van.

Stearman's lorry had been in the outside lane as he drove out of Lynn Road, and he commenced a tight left hand turn into Cromwell Road.

"The lorry struck Mr Lock and ran over him with its wheels," she said. "The postman on his cycle was only three feet behind, he braked and put his cycle on the ground, because he thought he might be also hit by the lorry."

Stearman, of Lawn Lane, Little Downham, told police he had heard "a bang" but had not seen Mr Lock before the collision.

"It is clear that the sole cause of the collision was the defendant's failure to see Mr Lock on his cycle," she said.

Mr Lock's widow had made a poignant victim statement, said Mrs Cundell.

"This is a couple who had been married for 57 years, so the impact has been huge."

Mitigating, Nicholas Michael said the accident had been devastating for Mr Lock's family, and also for Stearman and his family.

Stearman had taken a wide arc to negotiate his way into Cromwell Road, and hit Mr Lock in the mouth of the junction.

"He wholeheartedly accepts he drove without due care and attention that day," he said. "He should have been aware of the possible presence of Mr Lock on the roundabout, because he passed him on Lynn Road. "

Stearman, who acts as a carer for his wife, had allowed his HGV licence to lapse after the accident.

CAPTION: The crash in August last year which claimed the life of Leonard Lock.