A MAN from Colwyn Bay has been jailed after his lack of attention while driving killed a cyclist in Bangor.

Richard Gardner, 40 of Tan y Lan Road, Old Colwyn, was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment at Mold Crown Court today (April 6).

He was disqualified from driving for two years and five months, and must first pass an extended re-test.

Prosecuting, Brian Treadwell told the court that, on December 9, 2021, Gardner’s actions caused the death of Daniel Evans, 45, a senior team leader with the healthcare research and development arm of Siemens Healthineers.

The crash occurred at approximately 7.11am at Faenol Hill.

Gardner was employed by Menzies Distribution, based at its depot in Bodelwyddan, and his role involved delivering newspapers to newsagents.

At the time, a temporary speed limit of 40mph, reduced from 50mph was in place at Faenol Hill, but Mr Treadwell said Gardner entered the road at 67mph..

He was driving in the course of his employment, with his Volkswagen Crafter van loaded with newspapers at the time.

There was evidence that Gardner attempted to make a phone call to his wife at 7.08am, which could only have been made manually, rather than via Bluetooth.

At the same time, his vehicle could be seen moving from side to side on the road.

Mr Evans, who lived in Y Felinheli, was cycling to work as he usually did, and was dressed appropriately, including with a helmet.

His bicycle was said to be in good working order, with red-flashing lights on the front and rear, and his positioning on the left of two lanes appropriate.

Indeed, Mr Treadwell said that there was “no evidence that his riding was, in any way, a contributing factor to the collision”, and that “other cars navigated around him without difficulty or incident”.

For 10 seconds, he said, Gardner was not looking at the road ahead of him, irrespective of whether he was using his phone or not at the time.

But while other motorists moved into the right-hand lane to safely overtake Mr Evans, Gardner did not, and hit him, causing him catastrophic head injuries.

Gardner stopped after the crash and immediately made a 999 phone call.

A forensic collision invest report found that the weather was dry, with a light wind, and that the road surface, while damp, was in a reasonable condition.

While Gardner was found not to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time, the cause of the crash, Mr Treadwell said, was “a failure by the defendant to observe Mr Evans”.

Gardner, who had nine previous convictions for 13 offences. was said to have been “shocked and distressed” by the course of events.

Mr Treadwell added: “There is no apparent explanation to explain why he did not see vehicles moving around Mr Evans.

“Whatever took his eyes off the road for 241 metres, it shows a period of protracted inattention.”

They told of how they were doing some Christmas shopping in Cardiff when their son’s partner, Joanne, told them that he had died.

His father, Anthony, said: “All I recall is crying and sobbing, which was uncontrolled. We had lost our beautiful son. Even now, as I say this, my heart thumps, and as a couple, we cry together.”

Mr Evans’ mother, Patricia, added: “Dan was totally blameless in the events which killed him, and he did not deserve to die.

“He had such potential. He was their (Siemens’) rising star.. He had great plans for the future, which has been denied him. I can never forgive what happened. My heart is broken.”

Defending, Owen Edwards agreed that Mr Evans was “in no way to blame for his tragic death”, and that that lay solely with his client, Gardner.

But he invited the court to consider a suspended sentence on the basis that this was Gardner’s first offence since 2011, that he had shown genuine remorse, and that he was the breadwinner for his family.

Gardner has been married to his wife, Emma for nine years, and has been in a relationship with her for two decades, the court heard.

They have had two teenage sons together, both of whom still live with them, as does one of his wife’s three children from a previous relationship.

He lost his job following this incident but immediately found another, with his new employers saying “how valued he has become”.

Gardner’s wife is also dependent on him due to her suffering from bipolar disorder and depression.

Mr Edwards said that Gardner did not pose a wider risk to the public, had complied with court proceedings, and had a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Sentencing, Judge Nicola Saffman said that only immediate custody for Gardner would suffice following the death of Mr Evans, a “promising, remarkable man who was clearly very well-loved”.

She also ordered Gardner to pay a statutory surcharge.

Judge Saffman told him: “There is no evidence that, at the time, you were speeding, or on your phone, but you were distracted, and not paying proper attention to what was in front of you.

“You missed the fact that other cars had overtaken Daniel Evans. He had a right to be in that lane. You should have seen him sooner.”

Sergeant Liam Ho, of North Wales Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Evans’ family, who have suffered unimaginable devastation.

“There is no sentence that can ever replace the hole that has been left in their lives, but we hope the passing of this sentence will act as a reminder to all drivers that momentary decisions to lose concentration can have devastating consequences.”