Driver cleared after fatal cyclist crash

A father-of-two has been found not guilty of causing the death of a cyclist on a narrow country lane.

Thomas Gibbs was charged with causing the death of Ben Jacobs, 47, by careless or inconsiderate driving on Church Road, in Bentley, near Ipswich, on 17 May 2023.

The collision between the 43-year-old's silver Volkswagen Passat and the cyclist, who was on a ride with three others, occurred about a mile from Mr Gibbs' home.

After a five-day trial at Ipswich Crown Court, he was cleared of the offence after a 12-person jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty in an hour.

Addressing the jury, His Honour Judge Richard Kelly said: "This case, like many of this nature, are always difficult for juries to deal with.

"This is one of those cases where, whatever your verdict, there are no winners in a case like this."

Mr Gibbs, a chartered accountant and tax adviser, had left Manningtree train station after spending the day working in London at about 18:51 GMT.

During the journey, there was evidence to suggest he was wearing earphones and had used his phone, but not in the seven minutes before the collision.

At the same time, Mr Jacobs, a father-of-three, from Rushmere St Andrew, near Ipswich, was on a 30-mile ride with Darren Cook, David Solomon and Jason Taylor.

They were using racing bikes and travelling on the single-track lane at about 22mph in a "one-behind-the-other formation" in "perfect" conditions.

Mr Jacobs was third from the front of the pack, which was being led by Mr Cook, when they approached a "very gentle bend", and the collision occurred.

Mr Jacobs was "struck up into the air" and landed on a verge. He suffered a "significant brain injury" and died the next day at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

Mr Solomon also suffered injuries during the incident, including a broken nose and cuts to his face.

When he gave evidence, he said he did not believe the group of cyclists would have veered towards the middle of the road.

But, defence barrister, James Leonard KC, said: "As night follows day, the cause of this impact was the road position of the cyclists."

Prosecuting barrister Charles Myatt, however, argued Mr Gibbs had been driving without due care or attention and had been in a hurry to get home to his children.

He, himself, had told police at the time that he needed to get home, but later denied that was the case, instead putting his comments down to "being in a state of shock".

Giving evidence, Mr Taylor said he recalled the car approaching the pack of cyclists at "quite a speed" and it "didn't appear to be slowing".

But Mr Leonard KC said it had been a "low velocity" crash, and his client had been travelling at no more than 30mph and had "left a comfortable passable gap".

PC Mark Head, a forensic collision investigator, agreed it had not been a "high-speed collision" and said Mr Gibbs had been "attentive" and reacted as quickly as expected.

After an assessment of the distance from the station to the collision site, His Honour Judge Kelly said there was "no criticism of the speed of his journey".

The court also heard that the cyclists and Mr Gibbs were both obstructed by foliage, and the cyclists would not have entered his line of sight until 1.6 seconds before impact.

The lead cyclist, meanwhile, who did not warn the cyclists behind him of the oncoming car, would have had about 2.3 seconds before impact to react.

Throughout the trial, family and friends of both the victim and the defendant had been present in court, and as the not guilty verdict was read out, cries could be heard from the public gallery.

"The supporters of each of these two sides have remained remarkably well behaved and dignified throughout," added Judge Kelly.

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