We have just returned home from Norwich Crown Court today. The lorry driver, Simon Bothamley, has been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment and 5 years disqualification from driving with a further requirement to retake the extended licence for HGV vehicles. In practice this means he is unlikely to secure a licence for driving lorries ever again - an outcome I will be more than satisfied with.
Judge Binning in his sentencing had to take into account the aggravating factors of Bothamley having been driving at 6mph more than the lorry's 50mph limit and the fact that he had sent two text messages from his mobile phone about an hour prior to the crash whilst he was driving the lorry at it's maximum speed. He also had to take into account the fact that Bothamley had received a conviction in May 2010 for driving the very same lorry whilst using a mobile phone. This, in addition to his Not Guilty plea, led the judge to apply the sentencing guidelines that ended in his prison sentence.
We will only ever know whether Bothamley was drafting a text at the point of the collision if he confesses. He chose not to be cross examined by the prosecution and so we are left with drawing our own conclusions as to the reason why he failed to pay sufficient attention to the road conditions which led to such a tragic event and the loss of dearest Liz.
I am satisfied with the sentence and am particularly pleased about the driving ban. It seems to me that Simon Bothamley has failed to learn from his mistakes and in my opinion should not be able to drive a lorry ever again - certainly not 12 tonne trucks.
There is a news report from the BBC East team. If you want to read more click here. There is also an Eastern Daily Press web report that features a video clip the Police have produced after the crash. You have to click on it to run the film, I personally could not bring myself to watch it.
Today marks a new point in the rest of our lives. There have been no winners in this case. For Bothamley I hope it will give him time to reflect upon his actions and provide an opportunity to perhaps learn new skills prior to his release. For me and our 3 wonderful children we must all move on and look to the future, not dwell upon the past. I think we each have the capacity to continue to lead fulfilling lives and that is what we must do. I know that is what Liz would have wanted.
With best wishes to all our friends and family who have supported us during the last year, and our thanks to the Police officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Prosecution barristers who acted so effectively for us.
Mike, David, Andrew and Jenny
