Shropshire lorry driver sentenced for causing cyclist's death

A Shropshire lorry driver has been sentenced for causing the death of a cyclist by careless driving after a load he was carrying knocked a man off his bike.

Graham Llewellyn, 65, of Galton Drive, Telford Estate, Shrewsbury, was handed a two-year community order to include 200 hours' unpaid work after being sentenced at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

He had previously admitted causing the death of Hungarian Andras Gadacsi, who lived in Oxford, by careless or inconsiderate driving on the A34, near Didcot, Oxfordshire, last August.

The court heard Llewellyn had a "momentary lapse of attention" when his load hit Mr Gadacsi near the Milton Interchange.

The lorry was carrying a portable building which hit the rider, who was thrown under the vehicle.

Llewellyn told police he "just didn't see" Mr Gadacsi, who died from his injuries at the scene.

Llewellyn was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay £600 costs.

Jacqui Broadbridge, group communications manager for the Crown Prosecution Service in Thames and Chiltern, said after the case: "The deceased was riding from his home in Oxford southbound along the A34 to Didcot when the collision occurred. The road was busy but the weather conditions were good.

"The defendant was driving a Leyland DAF lorry and he was carrying a portable building and the overhang was 400mm on one side of the lorry and just under that on the other side.

"The load hit the back of the cyclist's head and knocked him off his bike and the body then went under the lorry."