Family pay tribute to dedicated intensive care nurse killed by Audi driver

The family of a nurse killed by a careless driver say she continued to save lives even after she had died by donating organs.

Stacey Steer died in hospital after being knocked off the motorbike she was riding with her husband in Somerset in May of last year.

Audi driver Sean Coates fled the scene after knocking Mr and Mrs Steer off their bike on the A39 at Holford. He made no attempt to contact emergency services and tried to clean his car with baby wipes following the crash.

Coates, of Alcove Road in Bristol, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for 26 years at Taunton Crown Court yesterday (19 December). The 29-year-old was also disqualified from driving for two years and 10 weeks.

Following the hearing, Stacey's husband Carl Steer described her as being the "very core" of their family.

He added: "She held a place in all our hearts that I cannot describe in words.

"If you could have met her, you would have liked her," he said. "Stacey was that sort of person.

"Stacey spent her life dedicated to her family and her work as an intensive care nurse, never thinking of herself, always others.

"Through her gift of organ donation, other people and their families have been given fresh hope.

"Even after her passing, she would still be saving lives, exactly what Stacey would have wanted.

"The worst part is not that we have lost Stacey, she was part of our lives and we will always be grateful, but Stacey will never hold our grandson, and he will never get to be loved by such a wonderful person.

"For her life to be taken away so senselessly is only compounded by the complete disregard Mr Coates had for his actions, by not only fleeing the scene, but by making every effort to save himself from justice with no thought of the lives he had destroyed.

"There will never be a sentence long enough in our eyes for what he has done."

He added: "Hopefully others will see the devastation caused to our family and friends as a deterrent to driving carelessly, and if one life is saved, then at least some good can come of this tragedy.

"Our family would like to thank all the efforts of Avon and Somerset Police, for the work they have done bringing Mr Coates to justice, and all the help and support they have given us.

"Stacey will never be forgotten, and we will do all in our power to honour her memory."