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Lorry driver jailed over charity cyclists' deaths | Lorry driver jailed over charity cyclists' deaths |
(35 minutes later) | |
A lorry driver who killed two cyclists taking part in a charity ride from Land's End to John O'Groats has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years. | |
Robert Palmer, 32, from Grimscott near Bude in Cornwall, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. | Robert Palmer, 32, from Grimscott near Bude in Cornwall, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. |
Palmer also admitted injuring another driver in a crash two months later, while he was on bail over the deaths. | |
Andrew McMenigall and Toby Wallace were killed near Newquay in July 2013. | |
'Tragic case' | |
Mr McMenigall, 47, and Mr Wallace, 36, who both worked for Aberdeen Asset Management, were 40 miles into the 960-mile ride when they were run over. | |
The men were raising money for two charities, the Kirsten Scott Memorial Trust and Edinburgh-based It's Good 2 Give. | |
Palmer had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. | |
He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for each count, to be served concurrently. | |
Palmer had also admitted a charge of dangerous driving in relation to a crash on the A30 at Whiddon Down near Okehampton, Devon, which happened in September 2013, 11 weeks after the fatal collision. | |
The court heard he had been on bail while police were investigating the cyclists' deaths at the time of the second crash. | |
He was sentenced to one year for that offence, to be served consecutively. | |
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark also banned Palmer from driving for 10 years and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £120, which the judge acknowledged was an absurdity in such a tragic case. |