Widow pays tribute to 'kindest, most caring and loving' biker husband killed in Wyberton collision
The family of a man who was knocked off his motorcycle and killed have spoken of their loss as the woman who caused his death was jailed for 10 months.
Bob Hewitt, 64, was was only minutes from home when his motorbike was hit from behind by a Suzuki car driven by 28-year-old Ruth Upsall.
She pleaded guilty to causing his death by careless driving and was jailed for 10 months at Lincoln Crown Court and disqualified from driving for 17 months.
Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, was driving her blue Suzuki Swift towards Boson on the A52 at Wyberton when she hit the rear of the black Triumph Bonneville Bobber motorcycle as she approached a junction.
The court heard that Mr Hewitt, who was thrown from his machine, could not have avoided the accident. He died at the scene.
In an interview, Upsall said she had been driving home from work listening to music on her mobile phone via the entertainment system in her car and that she may have been singing or mumbling along to the songs.
She did not see the motorcycle until two or three Suzuki car lengths in front of her and her car ran into the back of the motorcycle, causing the collision.
Checks on her phone showed she had not been using it for any other reason than to listen to music before the collision happened.
Mr Hewitt's family have paid tribute to a kind, caring, hard working man. His wife of 40 years, Lyn, on behalf of herself, her son and grandson said:
"On the 9th of October 2023 my husband of 40 years, father to Josh and grandfather to Hugo, was cruelly taken from us.
The kindest, most caring, hard working and loving man. Our hearts are truly broken, life will never be the same without him and we will love him always.", Lyn, Josh and Hugo Hewitt.
Detective Sergeant Adam Doona, Serious Collision Investigation Unit, Lincolnshire Police, said: "Bob and his family were looking forward to their future together; his death has been utterly devastating for them.
"There isn’t any sentence that will ever be enough, or bring Bob home to the place he should be.
"Driving comes with such a great responsibility, there are no exceptions to this. Every action or inaction a driver takes can have consequences, as has been felt by this extremely tragic collision.
"Anyone who travels on the roads needs to solely concentrate on their driving. On this occasion, Ruth Upsall may have been distracted by her music. However, there are other distractions that allow drivers to lose their concentration. If you decide to drive that has to be the only thing you do; no distractions, no excuses."
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