A vehicle tracking device has helped convict a van driver who knocked down and killed a cyclist while drunk.
Paul Walken, 42, failed to see 27-year-old Tim Osborn as he drove along the A151 Bourne Road in Spalding and hit him from behind, killing him almost instantly.
Walken, of Chapel Lane, Folkingham, was driving at 70mph in an area with a 50mph limit when he hit the supermarket worker as he was returning home at the end of the shift on the evening of September 14, 2012.
He then drove on, stopping two miles later to check if his van was damaged before making his way home, the Peterborough Telegraph reports.
Lincoln Crown Court heard that three days after the crash, Walken rang a police appeal hotline to admit he had been driving in the area at the same.
He admitted that his van hit something but said he was “1,000 per cent sure” it was a deer and that he was not responsible for the tragedy.
But forensic tests revealed the presence of Osborn’s DNA on Walken’s van and a GPS tracker device, fitted to the vehicle so that it could be traced if stolen, showed he was on the same stretch of road at the time Osborn was killed.
When the data was recovered it showed the van was travelling at 70mph in a 50mph limit.
Walken admitted causing Osborn’s death by careless driving while unfit to drive through drink. He was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for 10 years.
Patriot - 09/04/2014 13:57
At last! A Crown Court Judge who realised and accepted the appalling driving by a drunk which killed an innocent young man. My only concern is Walken will be released-if he behaves himself- in 3 years (Sentence less 50%-automatic reduction if jailed for more than 1 year- less 25% for good behaviour) The worst anomaly in cases like this is his driving ban can be concurrent with his sentence or a consecutive ban. I would much prefer the latter to be the law in all cases involving DUI.