Speeding driver lost control and killed mum out jogging on pavement
A dangerous driver has been jailed for killing a grandmother who was out jogging along a pavement, after losing control of a vehicle.
Catherine Bradford, who "lit up the room with her beautiful smile", died at the scene, after Alex Rickwood lost control of the MG ZR car he was uninsured to drive at High Street, Dowlais, Methyr Tydfil, and mounted the pavement.
Rickwood, now 32, was described by witnesses as driving "like a lunatic" as he failed to negotiate a sweeping bend while driving well above the 30mph speed limit, reports WalesOnline.
A sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, June 30, heard a number of heartbreaking victim impact statements from Mrs Bradford's family, who described their pain as "beyond belief".
Her daughter Megan and husband Allan described the unimaginable trauma of going out looking for Ms Bradford when she failed to return home from her run, before police officers told them the devastating news at the scene.
Setting out the facts of the case, prosecutor Clare Wilks said the car belonged to Rickwood's friend, Ryan Hunt, who had bought it to restore some 18 months earlier.
It was heard how Rickwood, who worked at the Ford dealership in Merthyr Tydfil, had always been "fascinated" by cars and was skilled in servicing and fixing them, so he had offered his expertise to Mr Hunt that day.
The car had previously been kept off road with aim for it to be restored for future legal road use, it was heard.
Ms Wilks said Rickwood, of Wern Isaf, asked Mr Hunt if he could drive the car, even though its MOT had expired some eight months earlier, invalidating his third-party insurance. In addition the car had a fraudulent trade plate, which was located in its windows.
She described how the pair stopped at the ESSO garage at Penydarren to get petrol before Rickwood "accelerated" up a hill on the eastbound carriageway of High Street - which has a single road going in each direction.
As Rickwood approached the brow of the hill it was heard how he said "oh f**" as he realised he had lost control of the vehicle.
"He steered to try and gain control, but over-corrected and drove into a lamppost, which fell entirely into the carriageway," Ms Wilks said.
It was heard how Mrs Bradford had been wearing a bright pink running top and a pink hat, and that Rickwood had seen a "pink streak" prior to impact. However, it was heard that Rickwood didn't realise he had hit a person until after the collision.
Witnesses at the scene heard Rickwood say, "f*** I've hit her, I've killed her," Ms Wilks said. It was heard how Rickwood stayed at the scene and called 999. Ms Bradford was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.22pm and Rickwood was arrested
Leading up to the incident Rickwood was captured on CCTV footage, shown to the court, travelling up to 27 miles per hour (mph) in a 20 zone outside a primary school.
At the point of impact with Mrs Bradford, it was hard how the car would have been travelling between 36 and 45 mph, but that it would have been travelling faster in the moments before the collision occurred.
One witness believed he had been driving between 50 and 60 mph, while another said it was "easily over 40 mph". The speed limit for that stretch is 30 mph.
(Image: South Wales Police)
The court heard how there was extensive damage to the bonnet of the car, while Rickwood and Mr Hunt also received injuries. Rickwood's head was bleeding, while Mr Hunt believed he had a broken arm.
Ms Wilks went on to describe the incident from Mrs Bradford's perspective. She said the 52-year-old grandmother had been spending the afternoon at home before she drove to visit her parents' house at their house along with her husband.
Following the visit it was heard how Mrs Bradford - a keen runner who took part in charity events - asked her husband to drop her off in Dowlais so she could run home.
It was heard how Mrs Bradford asked her husband to put the oven on so she could make dinner as soon as she came home, before she kissed him goodbye and went on her run.
The court heard five powerful victim impact statements read out by Mrs Bradford's family members, including her daughter Megan Thomas, her husband Allan Bradford, her son Adam James, her mother Jean Davies and her sister Helen Williams.
Appearing tearful Ms Thomas told the court of the agonising way in which she found out her mother had died.
She said: "September 19, 2022 was the worst day of my life. A day I still have to re-live. My mam simply went out for a run, and when she didn't come home on time, I never thought that going out to look for her would result in me and Allan being met with police blocking the road.
"The blue flashing lights still haunt me to this day. 'I'm sorry but with the description you have given us, it does sound like Cath, and she has passed away.'
"The sound that came out of me at that moment didn't feel real. I felt like I was dying too. There was nothing we could do. It was so final. So unfair. It shouldn't have been her."
She continued: "My life will never be the same again. The future that I pictured for myself has been taken away with one selfish, unforgivable act.
"My mam was my best friend, someone I went to for everything and anything. Who do I go to now? Who will be there to help me on my wedding day? Who will be there if I decide to have my own children? Who will give me advice only a mother can give? That's all been ripped away from me...Now it's two years on and we all still feel broken.
"There will always be someone missing at Christmas, birthdays, and just our everyday lives. My mam should still be here with us."
Mr Bradford was unable to attend court in person due to a recent heart operation. Instead it was read by the family's liaison officer, who stated: "[That evening] she put on her bright pink running top, her pink baseball cap and the rest of her gear and asked me to give her a lift to Dowlais to drop her off so that she could run back home as she often did.
(Image: Allan Bradford)
"On the way she wanted to call in to see her mam and dad, and I remember her mam commenting on how brightly dressed she was and said she should have put her sunglasses on. Cath lit up the room with her beautiful smile and said: 'well I'm never going to get ran over dressed like this am I!'
"Those words will stay with me for the rest of my life. We didn't stay long, probably 15 minutes or so. She said her goodbyes and I drove her up to Dowlais high street, to drop her off.
"Before she opened the door she said: 'give me a kiss,' which I did, and as she got out of the car, she told me to put the oven on 30 minutes after I get back home so she could prepare our tea when she gets back.
"As I pulled away, I glanced in the mirror and saw her walking off down the pavement. I had no idea that this would be the last time I would ever see her.
"After giving the police officers Cath's description, they told us she had been killed by a car that had mounted the pavement. Meg broke down and I just stood there, numb, it just didn't seem real.
"As I stood there, a private ambulance pulled up and they allowed it through to pick up her body. It was unbelievably traumatic."
He added: "We had the most amazing, happy life together, we did almost everything together and would be off on our adventures in our little motorhome as often as we could.
She was not just my wife; she was my best friend. My soulmate."
Addressing Rickwood, he said: "You killed her in such a violent, horrific way inflicting such terrible injuries on her that she had no chance of surviving...You have changed me. I will never be the same person that I was, I do not see the world the same anymore."
Ms Davies told the court of her daughter: "[On September 19, 2022] Catherine and Allan called at our house and we had a chat for a while.
"She was wearing a pink top, a colour she loved to wear. Time went by and she said: 'I am going for a run Mam', so I went to the front door to wave them off.
"I can't tell you how long it was, but the front door opened, it was Helen, her sister, coming in crying her eyes out, saying: 'Mam I've got a terrible thing to tell you. Catherine was hit on the pavement by a speeding driver and she's dead.'
"We just couldn't believe what she was saying to us, then the penny dropped and our lives fell apart.
"Catherine wasn't coming home ever again. We miss her, there's not a day or night without thinking about her. She loved life, from school friends to her working days, she had time for everyone with a smile. She was a person who loved people.
"Catherine, I talk to your photograph everyday, even if it's just to say 'hi'. We miss you so much."
Dressed in his military uniform, Mr James told the court: "Where do I start when it comes to describing the unnecessary reckless death of my mother? I refrain from the word 'loss', as it implies that I have lost something.
"My mother was 'taken' - not only from me but also my sister Megan and stepfather Allan and the whole wider family and friends that loved her.
(Image: Supplied by Allan Bradford)
"Old age, diseases or long term illness, you can plan and prepare yourselves for the inevitable, both in body and mind. Nothing can prepare you mentally or physically for your innocent mother to be killed so violently in a place where it should never have occurred."
Mrs Bradford's sister addressed Rickwood, saying: "I want you to know the absolute devastation you caused us that day. The day you chose to get in that car, with no insurance and fake number plate and drive so fast and so reckless that you hit our Catherine, who wa running on the pavement, doing what she loved to do, killing her almost instantly.
"Driving to Tredegar that evening, an ambulance and two first responder cars came flying past us. I turned to my partner and said to him: 'Oh god, that's something really serious.'
"Little did I know that a few hours later, my niece Meg would be phoning me in a terrible state, telling me that her mother had been killed, those paramedics were going to Catherine."
She added: "While you have gone on to create a life and prepare for a future, you have robbed us all of a future with Catherine - A daughter, mother, wife, sister, grandmother, auntie and friend to so so many. I hope you have the time to reflect on what you have done to us with your selfish, irresponsible actions and never put another family through this trauma. You destroyed us as a family that day and for that we will never forgive you."
Concluding the prosecution case Ms Wilks told the court that Rickwood - who attended court on Monday wearing a grey suit and carrying a large black sports bag - is of previous clean character, but did have three points of his driving licence for speeding in a 30 mph zone in 2021.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in May, avoiding a trial, and prior to that pleaded guilty to driving without insurance and using a fraudulent replacement trade plate.
Defending Rickwood, Andrew Taylor, said: "Nobody could fail to be moved by the tributes and the words used today." He called the case "harrowing" and said it should serve as a warning to everybody before they get in front of the wheel.
He described his client as a "dedicated father" who has been left "traumatised by his own auctions" and shows "genuine remorse". Mr Taylor described Rickwood's actions that day as "stupid" and said he would "never, ever forget it".
He said Rickwood resigned from his role at the Ford dealership following the incident and took up a job in construction. He pointed out that the delay in proceedings being heard was not solely the fault of Rickwood, noting that the case had taken "two years" to be heard at Magistrates' Court.
Sentencing Rickwood Judge Shomon Khan said there is no sentence he could pass that would make up for the loss and trauma experienced by Mrs Bradford's family and friends.
Addressing Rickwood, he said: "Your driving fell well below that required standard [of safe driving]. You accept that you drove the vehicle dangerously. The sad fact is you shouldn't have been driving it at all. You weren't insured due to the lack of MOT."
He sentenced Rickwood to five years and five months in prison. Rickwood was also disqualified from driving for seven years and eight months, and he will have to take an extended re-test if he wishes to drive after that point.
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