Driver banned after biker death crash

The 84-year-old man who admitted responsibility for the crash that caused the death of a local motorcyclist has been banned from driving.

Geoffrey Humphries, from Manafon, hit a Kawasaki being ridden by Simon Kerridge-Judd, from Trewern, when turning off the main road at the Berriew junction in his camper van.

He reportedly told officers who visited him at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital that “he just came out of nowhere” and his defence revealed that he had since taken out newspaper adverts saying sorry to the family and was struggling to come to terms with the incident.

Humphries, who had admitted a charge of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving at an earlier hearing, appeared at Welshpool Magistrates Court yesterday sentencing.

In addition to the driving ban, he was placed on a 12-month community order with supervision from probation and ordered to carry out an extended retest before he can have his licence back.

He was also charged £250 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

Evidence submitted suggested that eyewitnesses saw Humphries, who was travelling at about 45mph, pulling into the right turning bay, slowing down to about 5mph, but failed to see Mr Kerridge-Judd coming the other way before pulling out.

A family statement read: “This has been traumatic for all the family and some days are harder than others.”