Tue, 25 Sep 2018
A coach driver has been jailed for 15 months for causing the death of a young architect as she cycled to work.
Harpreet Sandhu, of No5 Barristers' Chambers, prosecuted Barry Northcott, 40, from Southover, Bromley, who denied but was convicted of causing death by careless driving last month.
Northcott was also banned from driving for five years and 30 weeks.
Mr Sandhu told Woolwich Crown Court that Northcott was unaware he had hit 32-year-old Karla Roman as he turned left across her path until a passenger raised the alert.
The court heard how Northcott made the “deliberate decision” to ignore road rules by stopping in a cycle box as Ms Roman cycled to work. Northcott pulled into a cycle box as he waited to turn off Whitechapel High Street.
As part of the prosecution case, Mr Sandhu said: "He did not see her in the mirrors as he continued to turn as he was not paying attention, and when he made that left-hand turn into her path, his coach collided with her and ended up dragging her, with her bike, under the wheels of the coach."
The court was told Karla was riding along a Cycle Superhighway in Whitechapel in February last year when she sustained “catastrophic injuries”.
The court heard that Northcott, a former soldier who had served in Bosnia, had been suffering with mental health issues since the incident.
To read more about the case, visit https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/coach-driver-who-killed-young-architect-karla-roman-as-she-cycled-to-work-jailed-a3942281.html
Harpreet Sandhu is a member of the Criminal Law Group at No5 Barristers’ Chambers. To view his profile visit https://www.no5.com/barristers/barrister-details/332-harpreet-singh-sandhu/
