Young woman cries as she is jailed for killing a motorcyclist and seriously injuring his fiancée 10 days before their wedding after making the ‘catastrophic’ decision to overtake another car on a country road
- Chloe Ferry, 21, has been jailed after rider David Lewis, 49, was killed in a crash
- Fiancée, Susan, also spent months in hospital and could not attend his funeral
- She suffered fractured vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, a damaged spleen and leg
A young girl has been jailed for killing a motorcyclist just 10 days before his wedding, after a ‘catastrophic’ overtake on a country road.
Chloe Ferry is spending two years and four months in prison following a head-on collision that left a biker dead and his fiancée seriously injured.
The 21-year-old, who was also injured, tearfully admitted in hospital that she saw the motorcycle but believed she had enough time to overtake a car in front on the A614 near to the M62.
Rider David Lewis, 49, died at the scene on September 19, 2021, and his fiancée spent four-and-a-half months in hospital with two fractured vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, damage to her spleen and damage to her leg, Hull Crown Court heard.
It was said that Susan Lewis, 49, was so injured that she could not attend her partner’s funeral.
David Lewis (pictured), 49, was killed in a tragic collision just 10 days before his wedding
While she has now returned to an office-based job just two days a week, Susan was said to have needed a mobility scooter and was not as independent as before.
Ferry admitted causing the death of David Lewis and causing serious injury to his pillion passenger and partner of six years by dangerous driving.
Robert Stevenson, prosecuting, said that the ‘collision had become inevitable’ when Ferry was unable to swerve away from the motorbike.
He explained that Mr Lewis of Driffield, was riding his motorcycle and was travelling home on the A614 from his daughter’s home, heading eastbound towards Middleton-on-the-Wolds, between Driffield and Market Weighton, at 4.20pm that day.
Ferry was heading in the opposite direction towards the M62 in a yellow Peugeot 107 after spending the weekend with her boyfriend.
As the motorcycle had just come over the brow of a hill, Ferry thought that it was safe and pulled out to overtake another car in front of her.
When Mr Lewis approached, he flashed his lights as a warning to Ferry.
The young girl tried to avoid a collision by swerving back but could not do so.
Chloe Ferry (pictured) is spending two years and four months in prison following a head-on collision that left a biker dead and his fiancée seriously injured
Susan and David Lewis had known each other for 20 years and were planning to get married 10 days after the collision.
David – who had driving motorbikes for 30 years – was known as a safe and sensible rider.
He had two daughters, Sarah and Jessica, who had suffered ‘extreme sadness’ and could not sleep because of his death. He also had grandchildren.
Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that Ferry had held a full driving licence since November 2019 and was a bright, intelligent young woman who was held in high regard, as shown in references.
She had no previous convictions or endorsements on her driving licence.
Miss Baines said: ‘She carries the burden of what she did very heavily every single day.
Ferry admitted causing the death of David Lewis and causing serious injury to his pillion passenger and partner of six years by dangerous driving at Hull Crown Court (pictured)
‘She feels guilty on a daily basis about the devastating consequences of her actions.’
In a letter, Ferry said: ‘I really don’t know where to start. There are no words that can say how sorry I am or that can take the pain away from the families.
‘I am wholeheartedly sorry. I will never be able to escape what happened that day and I can never take back my actions. I am so sorry for the pain that I have caused you.’
Ferry has suffered post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety since the accident.
‘The defendant is traumatised by the consequences of her actions and the impact that it has had on Susan Lewis and the family of both victims,’ said Miss Baines.
‘There is nobody punishing herself more than Chloe Ferry for the error of judgement on the day in question. She hasn’t driven since the collision. She has no intention of driving again. She struggles every day to be a passenger in a car. That is likely to persist for some time in the future.
‘No sentence passed upon her will assuage the loss that has been suffered by the family and friends affected by the death of Mr Lewis.’
Ferry, of Tyburn Close, Grange Park, Swindon, was jailed for two years and four months. She was banned from driving for four years and two months.
The court heard that the prison sentence would have been three-and-a-half years after a trial but was reduced by a third because of her guilty pleas, lack of convictions and other factors.
Ferry sobbed and wiped her eyes as she left the dock and headed to the cells.
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