Stephen Dudley guilty over Etchingham generator death

A man has been found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a 60kg generator fell off the back of his lorry and killed a woman.

Stephen Dudley, 44, was driving from Ashford to Brighton in August 2016, but failed to secure the generator.

At a level crossing in Etchingham, East Sussex, the load fell from the flatbed Ford Transit, killing pedestrian Emma Beeney and injuring her husband Rob.

Judge Guy Anthony sentenced Dudley to four years in prison.

The father-of-four, from Speldhurst Close, Ashford, will be released on licence after two years and has been disqualified from driving for seven years.

Jurors at Lewes Crown Court also found Dudley guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was sentenced to two years in prison for that offence, which he will serve concurrently.

Passing sentence, Judge Anthony said: "While he may have sat there dabbing his eyes throughout the trial he has not accepted any responsibility for what he did.

"He described it as a 'freak accident', he tried to blame everyone else for not training him properly, he did not express any remorse."

The verdicts were passed by a majority of 10 to two.

Mrs Beeney, 40, an Army warrant officer based in Andover, Hampshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a statement following the trial, her family said: "The consequence of Mr Dudley's behaviour are that Rob will spend the rest of his life with a broken heart and irreversible injuries and for all Emma's family our sentence is 'for life without Emma'.

"We would like to express our sadness and disappointment that in the 19 months since Emma's tragic death, Mr Dudley has shown no remorse or taken any responsibility for his actions."