Woman sentenced for causing death of biker on A19

Dax Jones.

A woman has been sentenced for causing the death of a motorcyclist by careless driving on the A19. Eleanor Hope Wilson, 23, of The Green, from Kirklevington, was found not guilty of dangerous driving on November 26 following a three-day trial at Teesside Crown Court, but had previously admitted to causing death by careless driving. The accident happened when Dax Jones, 51, from Ashington, Northumberland, was riding his Yamaha MT along the A19 southbound carriageway near Ingleby Arncliffe on the morning of June 15, 2022.

As he approached a gap in the central reservation, Eleanor Wilson was in the junction opposite, driving her Ford Ka and waiting to cross the southbound carriageway into the central reservation gap. Although Ms Wilson did stop at the junction, she then emerged from it and crossed the two lanes of the southbound carriageway, directly across the path of Mr Jones' motorbike, which was travelling in lane two, colliding with him and resulting in him sustaining fatal injuries. Members of the public stopped at the scene and provided first aid, but sadly Mr Jones did not survive and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

Multiple witnesses to the collision provided eye-witness accounts, all corroborating the same tragic circumstances that led to Ms Wilson being charged with causing death by dangerous driving by the Crown Prosecution Service. She has never denied responsibility for causing his death, however, she pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving, and instead agreed to plead guilty to causing death by careless driving. The prosecution disagreed and she stood trial at Teesside Crown Court, where a jury found her to be not guilty of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Richard Grey of North Yorkshire Police's Major Collision Investigation Team, said: "This was a tragic and needless death caused by a driver not looking properly. "It could so easily have been avoided. An innocent motorcyclist has lost his life.

His family has been devastated and a young woman has to live with what she has done for the rest of her life. "If ever there was a case that highlights just how vital it is to take care and be 100 per cent sure before you make a manoeuvre, this is it. "My thanks go to the members of the public who stopped at the scene to help and to the witnesses who came forward with information.

"Our thoughts remain with Dax's family and friends." "The loss of Dax has deeply impacted our family. He leaves an unfillable void not only for us, but for his friends, colleagues, and fellow bikers far and wide.

"Dax cherished time with his parents, his son, his sister, and their partners, as well as his niece and great-nephews. He was equally happy away in his campervan or at rallies with the 'ARP lads.' "We offer our eternal gratitude to the passersby who stopped to show him compassion in his final moments.

We also thank the first responders - paramedics and police, both on and off duty - for their desperate efforts to help him. "Those who knew Dax know he was simply travelling to a new job, starting a chapter that was meant to give him more time at home. He was looking forward to becoming a grandfather.

His grandchild was born 13 months after his death - a meeting that never took place, and a future that was cruelly taken away from him and from us." Ms Wilson was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court today. She was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.

She was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for 12 months, ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity and complete the 'First Steps to Change' programme.