Mother of young biker killed by banned driver in Holbeach calls for tougher penalties

The mother of a young motorcyclist killed by a banned driver is calling for tougher penalties for other offenders.

Twenty-year-old Amy Cooper was returning from her boyfriend's home when she was hit by a car driven by Shane Kelk on the B1168 near Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in November 2022.

He had been trying to overtake another car and was on the wrong side of the road in dark and foggy conditions when he collided with her head-on.

A witness later told Lincoln Crown Court Kelk, 28, said "I'm sorry" to Amy as she lay dying before calling a friend to collect him and fleeing the scene.

He was jailed for eight years and three months and later lost a bid to have the sentence reduced.

Amy's mother Mandy said she still sees drivers acting recklessly and believes harsher penalties are needed.

"I think they have to be a lot tougher to be a deterrent because every time a driver gets away with a foolish move it makes them think they're an even better driver and that overrides any thoughts they might have of the sentence if they cause a crash," she said.

She said the impact of losing Amy was irreversible.

"Our lives will never be the same," she said. "It's huge, it just rips your heart out, rips your family apart and yeah, we will never be the same.

"Every day it's a case of waking up with just a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, another day without Amy."

Amy's sister Sam Pointon added: "You don't know what this feels like unless you've been through it because its easy to think it won't happen to me, and then it does.

"There are just no words to describe trying to pull your life back together after something like this. It's easy to pretend that this won't happen to you but it can."

The family spoke out after 13 fatalities on Lincolnshire's roads in 2024. Last year 48 people died and 378 were seriously injured.

Police say many incidents are preventable.

Det Con Caroline Pendell, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "Sadly many of them are avoidable, they are classed as collisions and the main cause is driver error, a lapse in concentration, distraction, speed. All of these things can be avoided."

A spokesperson for the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership said: "We still have too many families impacted by the devastation that comes from these accidents, so we remain committed to our preventative and enforcement activities to continue the downward pressure on these figures.

"The number of fatalities in early 2024 shows the need for everyone who uses the roads to drive with care and consideration for not only themselves but others on the road."

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