Driver jailed for killing man as he changed tyre on country road
54 year old Shane White was sentenced to 5 years behind bars
A driver has been jailed for five years for killing a father as he changed a tyre on a country road.
31 year old Mark Rowley was hit by Shane White as he tried to overtake the broken down van on the side of the road.
A court heard White collided head-on with an on-coming Jaguar - and then hit Mr Rowley as he tried to head back home to his family.
Keen rugby player Mr Rowley had put on his hazard lights and was fixing the burst tyre when he was struck by White's car.
He was taken to hospital following the crash on the winding country road near Abergavenny but died from his injuries a week later.
Prosecutor Janet McDonald said: "At the time he was hit, Mark Rowley was standing by the side of his broken down van just leaning into his driver’s seat.
"The collision with Mr Rowley would have been entirely avoidable for a careful and competent driver."
She said all drivers were expected to be "careful and competent," adding: "It’s no magic formula for court. It is how drivers are expected to drive.
"Mr White was not such a driver on that day and he drove in a manner far below that standard.
“Simply put it was dangerous driving and dangerous driving resulting in a death."
Cardiff Crown Court heard junior rugby coach Mr Rowley had removed four out of the five wheel nuts on the tyre before he was hit.
Ms McDonald said: "The road surface was wet. That should have been a red flag warning for a driver on a country road, a winding road, to take greater care, particularly around bends.
“He had the time to brake, he had the time to reduce his speed. He chose to overtake without knowing what was coming.”
“His driving was an obvious risk."
White, of Llanfoist, near Abergavenny, denied causing death by dangerous driving but was found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court.
Mr Rowley’s mother Michelle Rowley said: “Mark’s death was avoidable and we will never recover from it.”
Four hundred friends and family lined the streets to mourn the popular figure, a keen rugby player with New Panteg, at his funeral.
Nigel Fryer, representing 54 year old Shane White, said: “He expresses his profound regret and remorse.
“He is a man who will have to live with the consequences of his actions of that day.”
Judge Shomon Khan told White: “Mr Rowley was a young man with a young family and he had his whole life ahead of him.
“It’s heart-breaking to hear about all those who have lost Mark – my sympathies go out to his family.
“Mr Rowley’s death was entirely avoidable.”
White was banned from driving for eight years and three months.