A distracted driver who spent 18 seconds looking at a sat nav before driving into a cyclist and killing him has been found guilty of dangerous driving.
Victoria McClure, 38, hit and killed cyclist Anthony Hilson, a father of two, on the A4 near Twyford, Berkshire, on 16 September last year. McClure was found guilty of death dangerous driving at Reading Crown Court.
Despite clear visibility and an 18-second window to see Hilson, McClure was focused on her GPS and drove into the back of him, the court heard. McClure, of Charvil, had pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of death by careless driving, but the Crown Prosecution Service persisted in their case for dangerous driving, a sentence that carries a prison sentence up to 14 years and a minimum two-year driving ban.
Rhia Weston, a road safety campaigner at the CTC, said: “We greatly welcome the CPS’ decision to seek a prosecution for a ‘dangerous’ driving offence. Driving into the back of a cyclist because you’ve spent 20 seconds looking at your sat nav is surely ‘dangerous’ driving, and someone who thinks it is merely ‘careless’ is a serious risk to public safety.”
McClure will be sentenced next month.