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A driver will spend the next seven years in prison for hitting and killing cyclist Yvonne Wyeth in Walton last May after a night of drinking.

Jason Taylor, 35, was two and a half times the legal alcohol limit with a reading of 207mg per 100ml of blood when he drove into grandmother Mrs Wyeth from behind "as if she hadn’t been seen" at about 6.35am on Thursday May 28.

He previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit, plus two counts of driving while disqualified, before being sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday (March 3).

Despite good conditions and 55-year-old Mrs Wyeth’s high visibility clothing, Taylor hit the cyclist’s rear wheel as she travelled to work as a cleaner.

Prosecutor Amanda Hamilton said: “Mr Taylor was driving a Vauxhall Combo van in the same lane as Mrs Wyeth. He came up behind her and didn’t change his course to go round here and hit her, causing her to fly off her bike with force.

“A witness saw her doing a full two body cartwheels.”

Another witness said he thought the driver "must be drunk, on the phone or both", Ms Hamilton said.

And addressing Taylor, Judge Robert Fraser said: “It was almost as if she hadn’t been seen- she wasn’t there. You drove through her almost.

“She had done absolutely nothing wrong.”

Mrs Wyeth, from East Molesey , landed on the pavement and was pronounced dead at the scene before 7.30am.

The cause of death was multiple injuries, including to her head, pelvis and vertebrae and rib damage which punctured her lungs.

(Image: TMS)

Head-on collision

After he hit Mrs Wyeth, Taylor, of Gold Close in Waterlooville, came into contact with two other vehicles, first continuing on his course and shunting into a Vauxhall Astra in front.

Apparently attempting to avoid impact, Taylor’s van entered the other lane and there was a head-on collision with a 17 tonne truck coming the other way.

This left Taylor trapped, with firefighters having to cut him out, and he remained in hospital for two days for two broken ribs, fractured vertebrae, a broken nose and other issues such as lost teeth.

Defending, Kevin Walls said: “It’s very easy to consider someone with Mr Taylor’s record and having done something that has had such a terrible impact on the lives of the Wyeths, it’s easy to bill him a monster. However, while what he did that day was monstrous and was criminal, he is not a monster.”

Taylor would not be able to comprehend if someone killed a member of his own family in such circumstances, Mr Walls said, and apologised in a letter.

Devastated, shocked and torn apart

Mrs Wyeth’s children considered attending court for the sentencing but decided they wanted to remember their mother’s face rather than that of the man who caused her death.

In a statement, son Craig said: “You always see it in movies but never do you think it will happen to you, especially not twice in five years.”

Mrs Wyeth’s husband died on Christmas Day in 2010 due to cardiac problems.

After that the family home had separated due to financial difficulties, with Mrs Wyeth staying with friends before becoming more independent. She had been "shipped from pillar to post, desperate for a place to grow old," Craig said.

Craig had recently got engaged and he said: “She was so excited about my engagement that she already started shopping for a dress.” Instead, due to this tragedy, the wedding has been delayed.

“This man who killed my mother has no idea what he has taken away from us,” the statement went on. “Perhaps by justice being served on him now that could save another family the pain that has been brought on us.”

(Image: TMS)

Craig’s sister Gemma added in her own statement: “I was, and still am, absolutely devastated, shocked and torn apart.”

She added: “My mum used to regularly join us for Sunday dinner. I can no longer do this with her and I am angry that something so simple can no longer happen.”

Never held full licence

Taylor, formerly of Dunstable Road in West Molesey , told police he had drunk three Stellas the night before when he was at a friend’s house, but drove away after that person attacked him.

But he tested equivalent two and a half times the legal alcohol limit and traces of diazepam and cocaine were also found in his system.

The bricklayer has 31 previous convictions for 74 offences- eight for driving with excess alcohol and six for driving while disqualified- and has never held a full licence. He was last disqualified in January 2015.

Taylor, who has two children of his own aged two and five, was given seven years’ imprisonment for causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit, plus four months each concurrent on two charges of driving while disqualified- one from the day of the incident and another from the day before.

He was also disqualified from driving for nine years.