Man found guilty of careless driving over former Swansea woman's death

A MAN has been found not guilty of causing the death of a mum-of-two by driving dangerously, but guilty of a lesser charge.

Danny Lewis, 41, had denied a single charge of causing the death of Joan Morris by driving dangerously.

He was convicted of causing Mrs Morris's death by careless driving.

Mrs Morris was killed as she rode her 125cc motorbike along the A487 near Llanon in Ceredigion.

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She died instantly after the bike she was travelling on was in collision with Lewis's Ford Focus.

The pair were both travelling separately in opposite directions at 8.15am as Lewis drove from Aberaeron towards Aberystwyth..

Mr Lewis, who works for Coleg Ceredigion as a college mentor, was travelling to work. He had denied he was running late and was rushing at the time of the accident.

Mrs Morris, formerly of Clase and Gorseinon, had moved to Bow Street, near Aberystwyth, with her husband, Alan, a former Evening Post journalist. 

Lewis was one of five cars travelling behind an Arriva Wales bus when he decided to overtake the car in front of him.

The bike had split into two because of the impact of the collison, the jury at Swansea Crown Court were told.

The prosecution had alleged he had driven dangerously by committing himself to a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre. 

Lewis, of Penparc, Cardigan, said he was not overtaking dangerously but said he was edging out from the line of traffic to see if he could overtake safely.

He said he "panicked" when he saw the motorbike coming towards him. He said he saw Mrs Morris as a "flash of colours" and slammed on his brakes. 

In a tearful account of the incident, he told the jury the wheels then locked before he collided with Mrs Morris.

Judge Philip Richards said the jury had found his edging out into the road and across the road markings made the collision "unavoidable".

Mrs Morris worked in the kitchen at the city's Singleton Hospital before becoming a care home worker in Gorseinon, Swansea and Llanelli.

Her family sat through the four day trial.

The jury, of seven women and five men, took more than four hours to deliver their verdict.

Lewis, will be sentenced in Cardiff on Friday.