Widow reveals how she found husband dead knocked off his bike

A woman found her husband dead at the roadside after hearing the sound of a car ploughing into his motorbike just a few hundred yards away.

A court heard Lynda Hewitt was aware husband of 40 years Robert was travelling home and checked a phone tracking app for his whereabouts after hearing the sickening noise of metal scraping as she pottered in her garden.

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement Mrs Hewitt said: ‘I had to lean down in the road to kiss my husband of over 40 years goodbye,’ Mrs Hewitt added.

The tragic chain of events was outlined at the sentencing hearing of driver Ruth Upsall, 28, who drove straight into the back of Mr Hewitt’s motorcycle while ‘singing along’ to music.

A court heard the motorist had inexplicably failed to see the 64-year-old biker who was indicating right on the A52 in Lincolnshire to turn into a minor road near his home at Frampton Fen.

Jon Dee, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that after checking the tracking app, Mrs Hewitt went to her husband’s location at the crash scene.

‘Ultimately she saw her husband dead on the roadside,’ Mr Dee said.

The collision occurred at around 3.45pm on 9 October last year as Mr Hewitt stopped and indicated right into Fen Road.

‘For some reason, which must have been inattention, the defendant failed to notice his presence and drove straight into the back of him,’ Mr Dee explained.

Mr Dee argued it must have been more than a momentary period of inattention.

‘What was missed was a motorcycle that had stopped for some time with the indicator illuminated,’ he added.

The court heard Upsall stopped at the scene but Mr Hewitt died from neck and head injuries despite the attendance of an air ambulance.

During her police interview Upsall - a recovery worker for a mental health charity who has a masters degree in forensic psychology - said she did not see Mr Hewitt until he was a few car lengths away.

She claimed to have braked but there was no evidence of that on the road.

Mr Dee told the court: ‘There was music and she was singing along.’

Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt's death by careless driving at her first court appearance.

Mrs Hewitt read out her victim impact statement in which she described her husband, known as Bob, as her ‘soul mate’ and explained how they were married after just three weeks together.

Mrs Hewitt also described the horror of hearing the scraping metal noise of the crash from her garden and the approaching air ambulance.

Mr Dee said testimomials from ‘around the world’ had also been submitted on Mr Hewitt's behalf.

Neil Sands, mitigating for Upsall, said she was a young woman who had spent her working life helping people who had suffered trauma, and argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.

‘This will never, ever leave her,’ Mr Sands added.

Jailing Upsall for ten months on Thursday, Recorder John Philpotts told Upsall that although speed was not a factor in the collision he could not overlook the fact that she had a previous conviction for speeding.

Recorder Philpotts said: ‘Mr Hewitt signalled his intention in plenty of time, an independent witness made that plain.

‘You were simply not concerntrating properly and failed to see Mr Hewitt.

‘You told police you were listening to music in your car.’

Upsall, from Boston, Lincolnshire, was also banned from driving for 17 months.