Drunk driver jailed over charity biker death
Fund raising motorcyclist killed on last stretch of 500-mile charity trip by driver with previous drink-drive conviction
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54 years 8 monthsA DRINK-DRIVER who killed a motorcyclist while he was on the last leg of a fund-raising motorcycle trip has been jailed for three years.
Guy Henderson Reed was more than double the legal alcohol limit when his Mercedes ploughed into Andrew Groves and John Toner on the last stretch of their 500-mile bike trip, which took place last summer.
Mr Toner, 39, was killed and fellow motorcyclist Mr Groves suffered serious injuries. They were raising money for their favourite charity, the Great North Air Ambulance, when the incident took place.
Reed, 36, of Whitehead Farm, East Cowton, North Yorkshire, yesterday admitted causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit.
Teesside Crown Court was told he was tested more than an hour after the crash and had 175mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - the legal limit is 80mg. Judge Peter Fox, was told that Reed had a previous conviction in 1997 for driving with excess alcohol.
The judge banned Reed, who denied the charge at an earlier hearing, from the roads for seven years.