Mother of Bottesford road collision victim makes road safety appeal

Caroline Williams was speaking after Garry Allen (33), of Braintree, Essex, was jailed for causing the death of her 24-year-old son, Christopher, by driving dangerously.

A court was told that Allen had taken a phone call on his car’s Bluetooth system while driving along the A52 en route to a business meeting and failed to see Mr Williams’ motorcycle travelling towards him because he had taken his eyes off the road.

After the defendant, who admitted the charge, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison, Mrs Williams said: “We are relieved that Mr Allen has finally admitted his guilt, but we feel he could have done than much sooner and saved our family from so much heartache.

“No sentence would be long enough for us but we have to accept the sentence given today.

“Actions have consequences and Mr Allen’s actions caused the death of Christopher.

“Chris was a biker and started riding at 16 years of age. He was known as a safe biker but that was not enough. We would like to see more campaigns on TV to raise the awareness of bikes on our roads because the excuse of not seeing them is not good enough.”

Mrs Williams added: “The loss of Christopher has devastated our family and affected the lives of our extended family and friends.”

Mr Williams received fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which happended on May 25 last year.

Det Con Alison Briance, from Leicestershire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “The case is a reminder of the importance of being fully alert when driving.

“Allen did not, for that small time, give the road his full attention and he was distracted resulting in the death of a young innocent man.

“I would also like to thank the motorists who stopped to help and those who administered first aid to try save Christopher’s life.”

As well as his jail sentence, Allen was also banned from driving for four years and three months and ordered to retake his test.