'She caused so much devastation to our family but was able to walk free from court'

FAMILY TELL OF HEARTACHE AFTER DRIVER WHO KILLED CYCLIST IS SPARED IMMEDIATE JAIL TERM

- By ABBIE WIGHTWICK

THE bereaved family of a cyclist killed by a driver who ploughed through a junction have told how he was the “light of their lives”.

Roger Dutton, from Holywell, was killed when dentist Lucinda Collins was distracted on a hands-free call and missed “stop” signs.

Collins hit another BMW, pushing that vehicle into the path of the much-loved father and grandfather, killing him.

Chester Crown Court heard last week that during that call, the 40-year-old had been told her father was dying moments before the collision.

At her sentencing hearing, Collins avoided immediate custody and was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, for causing death by dangerous driving.

But Roger's family said they don’t feel justice has been done and believe her sentence was an “insult”.

His wife Dale told the court of the “damage and utter devastation” caused by Collins that day.

She said Roger was “the light of our lives”.

After the case concluded, the Dutton family said Collins' delayed guilty plea added to their grief, a point referenced by the judge in sentencing.

“She now walks free from court today, free to live her life, with her family, with little consequences for taking another person's life,” a family statement said.

“That is not justice and is an insult to the value of Roger’s life.

“The justice system has failed him and us, the victims in this tragedy.”

Judge Stephen Everett said because Collins had never been in trouble before, she did not represent a danger to the public.

The court heard Collins had been distracted by a call from her mother about how her father was dying.

This caused her to lose concentration, with fatal consequences for the 75-year-old cyclist who was enjoying a day out when the accident happened on August 25, 2022.