Driver avoids jail term for killing biker John Tattersall
A MAN who killed a popular biker after driving carelessly has avoided a jail term.
Gareth Holloway, 34, admitted causing the death of biker John Tattersall after driving carelessly as he tried to complete a U-turn on the A4138.
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The judge sentencing him said Holloway had performed an "ill-judged" manoeuvre.
Holloway was driving his Saab home from work when he decided not to take his usual route to his then home in Pontarddulais. Instead of coming off the M4 at junction 47, he left the motorway at junction 48 at Llanelli and was travelling towards Talyclun, prosecutor Huw Rees said.
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As he made his way up the hill, Holloway decided he wanted to turn around, so made his way across the lanes of traffic and intended to pull into a farm entrance on the opposite side of the road.
As he did so, Holloway said he heard a bang and his airbag deployed before his car was sent spinning into the middle of the road, Swansea Crown Court heard.
He later told police he then got out of his car and ran to the body of 45-year-old biker John Tattersall, who lay in the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Tattersall had been driving his Suzuki 750 motorbike when he hit the rear driver's side and died instantly, Mr Rees said.
Mr Tattersall, an active member of the Y Demetae and Y-Rohirrin bike groups, had been speeding up the hill, the court heard. Experts estimated his speed as between 73mph and 83mph, despite a 40mph speed limit being in place at the time of collision at 3.33pm on March 11, 2011.
Judge Keith Thomas said Holloway made a "ill-conceived" and "ill-judged" manoeuvre.
Holloway had no previous convictions, the court heard. The judge imposed a 30- week sentence, suspended for two years. He banned Holloway from driving for three years and ordered him to complete 300 hours of community service.
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