A woman has been sentenced for causing the death of a motorcyclist near Newark during a hands-free telephone call.
John Aves, 42, died as he travelled on the A46 near Flintham, near Newark, during the evening of Wednesday, December 11, 2019.
He was hit from behind by a car, which was driven by 40-year-old Natasha Labidi, and knocked to the ground.
Labidi saw Mr Aves at the last second and swerved to the outside lane, but was unable to avoid a collision that sent the victim tumbling into the carriageway.
Police believe he may then have been hit by another car. He was given first aid at the scene, but died around two hours later in hospital.
Labidi was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving last month. She appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court for sentencing on Wednesday, February 10.
Labidi, of Anson Road, Newton, was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
She was also disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,200.
In a statement released ahead of the sentencing, Mr Aves’ family said: “John was the youngest of three sons and losing him has left a part of all our hearts missing forever. He meant the world to us all, and that can never be replaced. We think about him every day and miss him so much.
“We can only begin to imagine what John went through on that night. We think about this all the time. The pain he must have been in – he must have been so frightened it breaks our hearts every time we think about that frightful night. No one deserves to die in this way, especially not our John.
“It is a horrible nightmare that we now live as you never expect your children to go first, and certainly not in such a horrible way.
“We will never see John get married, nor have children of his own. We cannot help but be angry that someone’s actions have taken this from us. John was at a stage of getting his life together when this happened. He had a good job and a girlfriend and he deserved happiness, but it was all taken from him so soon.
“We think about him all the time. This will not lessen in time, it will be this way forever. The only consolation we take from that awful night is that he was not alone and was surrounded by some lovely people who cared for him to the best of their abilities and going above and beyond – including one individual travelling with him in the ambulance to the hospital. For that we are thankful and will be forever grateful.”
Case Investigator Louise Melbourne, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Whilst speaking hands free is not in itself against the law, using a phone in this way can have an effect on concentration levels and can distract attention away from the road.
“I hope that people who read about this tragic case will think about their own mobile phone use and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Making or taking a phone call when driving simply isn’t worth the risk. The consequences, as this case demonstrates, can be devastating for everyone involved.”
Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire Police is taking part in a national campaign, which started on February 8, to target drivers who use their mobile phones when driving. It sees fines for the offence increase to £200, as well as drivers being given six points on their licence.
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Lincolnshire residents are already feeling the impact of the rise in energy bills, which could soar to over £4,000 next year, with some saying they will just cancel their direct debits.
Energy bills for a typical household could hit £4,266 next year, experts warned. The higher estimate means the average household would be paying £550 a month, instead of £164 a month currently.
Two Lincolnshire MPs said they are pleased with the support being offered by the government so far, while a third sounded the alarm for extra support.
This comes after Cornwall Insight criticised regulator Ofgem’s decision to change the price cap every three months instead of six, as higher wholesale prices are also forecast. However, Ofgem said no forecast for next year could be “robust” at this stage and had “limited value”, according to the BBC.
In May, a £400 energy bill support was announced which was calculated on the basis of Ofgem’s prediction at the time that the price cap was likely to rise to £2,800, but experts now believe this will be higher. Here’s an explainer on how to access the energy grant here.
The Don’t Pay UK movement is demanding a reduction in energy bills to an affordable level, saying: “We will cancel our direct debt from October 1, if we are ignored. We will take this action if pledges reach one million by then.”
This sentiment was echoed by The Lincolnite readers, including Laura Jayne Coupland who said: “I will just cancel my direct debit because it’s an absolute joke. It’s about time the government intervened properly, if you care about the people and the economy so much, why are you allowing it? Let me guess, you will benefit from it.”
Kayleigh Dawson said: “I’ve cancelled my energy direct debits and will pay monthly what I can afford to. I’m more conscious on how much money I’m spending on outgoings and limiting them where possible.
“But, in complete honesty, who is not worried about the ever rising cost of just living and surviving? We shouldn’t be going from being comfortable to scraping by because those in powerful positions want second and third homes.”
Karl Anders said: “People seem to have no spare cash nowadays. My print business has gone from £108k during the pandemic to £5k this year. On top of this, we’ll probably be paying £300-£400 a month energy soon based on already thrifty usage.
“I don’t think many people understand how bad it’s going to get with food price rises, etc. There is a “I’ll put a jumper on” mentality currently, which will soon be shattered in October.”
Michael Basford said: “You do what our grandparents did, you cut your cloth. Our grandparents generation were amazing and very pragmatic when it came to making a little go far.
“Make do and mend as my grandmother use to say. So people should be planning for the worst case scenario now, not when it’s here and then too late. Own it.”
Peter Sykes said: “It’ll impact me by not using my heating. Probably not being able to pay my bills. Not able to buy food. Probably lead to a lot of people needlessly dying.”
Karen Price said: “Just had a bill for gas and lecky just under £3k for 8 months! British Gas put an estimate on the bill saying it will be just under £6k for 12 months next year.
“I’m not holding my breath for the October increases and tied myself in to a fixed not variable.
“Since my last supplier went bankrupt and it’s taken oven 8 months for British Gas to get us fully swapped over, it’s already increased tariff twice.
“Five years ago I was paying under £160 per month for both utilities. £2k per year, it’s now getting beyond a joke, considering three family members no longer live at home.
Ady Brodrick said: “Rising costs are a terrible thing for people, however with a change in lifestyle and some education the cost could be reduced. Sometimes it is situations like this that makes us change.”
Dennis Murray said: “Not quite sure how all this happened, except for a bit of rumouring. The country is definitely not going to survive under the current charges.
“Businesses are going to go to the wall, people on low wages are going to end up on full-time benefits, the countries tax recipes will collapse.
“There WILL be anarchy on our streets, people who have never demonstrate will now do it, crime will increase, people will cancel house, car, life, home insurance because they will not be able to afford it.
“Pensioners and other vulnerable people will turn their heating down, and some will die. Transport and personal cars will be a no no. I could go on and on. But this is reality, and what we are facing if something is not done now.”
Lincolnshire County Councillor Colin Davie said there were challenging times ahead for people on low incomes due to rising energy costs and political instability.
He said successive governments “of all colours” had “simply failed the British public on energy”.
“They haven’t planned, they haven’t invested, they haven’t built the infrastructure. So rising energy costs, which we should have been protected, are now absolutely under the whims of other people.”
He said there needed to be a balanced energy mix including solar, nuclear, wind, but that the current infrastructure was disconnected and “not secure”.
And he warned it was only going to get worse with reserves from Norway drying up and other countries having to make drastic changes over how much they export.
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