‘It breaks my heart knowing he will not see his girls grow up’ – widow’s emotional words in court
The devastated wife of a cyclist who was tragically killed on his way to work by a dangerous driver, has shared her heartache.
Claire Simons told a court: “It breaks my heart knowing that Stu will not see his girls grow up, he will not be able to drive them to prom, to wave them off to college or proudly walk them down the aisle and he will never meet his grandchildren.”
Stuart Simons died when David Parker, 67, of Torrington Road, Scunthorpe, hit the back of his bike on the A1077 at around 5.30am on October 7, 2022. Mr Simons, a father of two girls, was an avid cyclist both abroad and throughout the UK, clocking up around an average of 7,500 miles every year.
He cycled the 17 miles to work in Immingham each day had also taken part in charity rides in memory of the couple’s daughter Martha Rose, who tragically died of a congenital heart defect in 2012.
At Grimsby Crown Court[1], Senior Crown Advocate, Jeremy Evans described Mr Simons as an enthusiastic and proficient cyclist. He was wearing a backpack with a reflective covering and his specialist cycle was fitted with strobe red lighting at the rear and a light at the front. He also wore a safety helmet. The cyclist was correctly positioned on the road, and other drivers had seen him.
However, the driver of a Ford Kuga didn’t spot the cyclist and hit the back of his bike. A police reconstruction showed that the driver had 24 seconds to see the cyclist before the crash.
The road where the accident happened has a speed limit of 60mph. Police estimated that the Ford was going at 47mph.
“The cycle’s rear light would have been conspicuous from 600 metres away and Mr Simons would have been visible from 200 metres prior to the collision,” said the prosecutor. He added that the cyclist died from injuries that were too severe to survive.
The driver of the Ford told police he hadn’t seen the cyclist. He couldn’t explain why he hadn’t seen the cyclist, but admitted that the bike’s rear red light was flashing. He previously admitted to causing death by dangerous driving.
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Mrs Simons, in tears, told the court: “It has taken me so many attempts to write this statement. Every time I begin, the tears start to flow and I find myself unable to write anything. I mean, how do you find the right words that can define the impact of never seeing my husband again – my wonderful Stu and the girls never seeing their dad again, who they love and adore with all their heart. It literally affects every aspect of our lives and it has changed us as a family forever.” She shared how they met when she was just 18 and had 24 beautiful years together.
“On the 7th of October 2022 my world was ripped apart, changed forever, my future destroyed. My girls were happily getting ready for school that morning when the knock at the door came. Two police officers stood there and their words still haunt me.”
“I then had to tell the girls that their Daddy was not coming home. That they would never see him again. We did not even get to say goodbye. My pain is unbearable and to see the same pain in the eyes of my daughters is almost too much to bear,” she continued.
She spoke about how her daughters are now scared of losing their mum or another loved one. “They have lost their childhood, their innocence and they have been forced to grow up quickly and thrown into a world they do not want to be part of,” Claire added.
The distraught widow expressed her sorrow over the loss of her hardworking husband, who she says provided a secure future for their family. She also shared the distress they felt from having to frequently drive on the road where he was tragically killed.
Mrs Simons expressed: “I do not wish harm, but I can never forgive. A good, decent, kind, loving family man has been taken away too soon and the impact of that is indescribable.”
Sharing his grief, Mr Simons’ brother Damian revealed: “Words do not scratch the surface of providing an insight in the full HD, surround-sound experience of grief and loss. The true experience hits much harder and is relentless, my head is always full of questions which cannot be answered and there is no escape from this.”
“The grief we have all experienced from losing Stu is a 24 hours-a-day sentence that cannot be escaped no matter how hard we may try.” He added: “Stu was the best of people. If you knew him and had him as part of your life then you could consider yourself to be one of life’s lucky few.”
He stated: “We all have a Stu-sized hole in our lives and there is no way of filling that void.”
Addressing the defendant, Damian said: “As families we are very private people but it is important to me that you realise the incredible amount of damage you inflicted on countless lives when you took Stu from us. You didn’t just cut down the biggest and strongest tree that day, you set fire to the entire forest.”
“Each person who knew him will bear the scars of that day forever. Stu is irreplaceable and we will never have peace.”
Craig Lowe, mitigating, said his client was full of regret and had penned a “truly, sincere and heartfelt apology for the loss and devastation he has caused to so many.” He highlighted that Parker was a good man who had dialled 999 as soon as he grasped the gravity of the crash.
Parker, a professional welder and the sole carer for his ill wife, had a clean driving record over 32 years. The father of two and grandfather of four would never get behind the wheel again, said Mr Lowe.
Judge Richard Woolfall said: “The factor that makes this dangerous was that you had at least 24 seconds to notice Mr Simons. It is a long time.”
He pointed out that Mr Simons was a vulnerable cyclist. “He was an excellent cyclist,” he said. The judge highlighted the heartbreak the collision had caused the family. He sentenced Parker to 21 months in prison and banned him from driving for over six years. The judge commended the family of Mr Simons for their courage in attending court.
After the hearing, Sergeant Rob Mazingham of Humberside Police[4] urged all drivers to be extra vigilant when cyclists are on the road, reminding them that cars “can be a lethal weapon” and cyclists are “vulnerable.”
“To go for 24 seconds not to see someone is a long time and I would like everyone to reflect on that.” he said.
References
- ^ Grimsby Crown Court (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)
- ^ here (bit.ly)
- ^ here (bit.ly)
- ^ Humberside Police (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)