Motorcyclist's speeding cost his girlfriend's life (From Wirral Globe)

Motorcyclist's speeding cost his girlfriend's life

10:02am Wednesday 17th November 2010 in News

A motorcyclist whose speeding cost him the love of his life has been jailed for 18 months.

Robert Caddick's motorbike crashed as he rode along the New Ferry bypass towards Liverpool with his partner Christina Flynn on the back and she suffered fatal injuries.

Her brother, Darren Flynn, was also riding along with his girlfriend on the pillion, although it was accepted by Judge Brian Lewis that they had not been racing.

But when he fined 31-year-old Flynn last month for careless driving he said: "I am satisfied there was definitely evidence of some macho showing off on these motorbikes.

“Both of you were driving far too fast to conform to the requirements and signs of the road."

Caddick, 34, admitted causing death by dangerous driving on the evening of July 19 last year.

Anya Horwood, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the two motorcyclists were driving back home to Liverpool when they pulled up at lights at the bypass.

Witnesses in a car, who were also stopped at the junction, described how they sped away at “full throttle”, as if “taking off”. One prophetically said: "We will see them in a bush".

Miss Horwood told how as the road changed from a 50mph area to a 30mph area, close to a roundabout, Caddick lost control and crashed.

His machine was seen wobbling and he skidded 30 metres along the ground before colliding with the central reservation and he and 28-year-old Miss Flynn, known as Tina, were thrown from the bike.

Paramedics could not find a pulse when they examined Miss Flynn and she was pronounced dead at Arrowe Park Hospital shortly afterwards from multiple injuries including a fractured skull.

Caddick, of St Barnabas Road, Reading, who suffered serious leg injuries, still walks with crutches and faces further surgery, the court heard.

Robert Bryan, defending, said that Caddick, who has no previous convictions, was a hard-working, conscientious young man who cared deeply for Miss Flynn.

"He loved her enormously and his remorse is evident to all. Her family bear him no animosity and ill will."

Judge Brian Lewis said that experts concluded that at the time of braking Caddick had been travelling between 59mph and 78mph.

"This is a case in which excessive speed was the sole reason for the tragic circumstances."

He banned him from driving for three years.