Bircotes: Woman cleared of causing biker’s death on A614

Tributes left at the roadside to 26-year-old motorcyclist Karl Micklethwaite, who died on Monday. Picture: Hannah Kate Sandland

The fatal collision took place on a long straight stretch of the A614 Bawtry Road at Bircotes.

Valerie Smith, driving a Ford Focus, was turning onto a friend’s driveway.

The man who died was 27-year-old Karl Micklethwaite from the Doncaster area, who was riding a Kawasaki ZX1000. The accident happened on 18th June last year.

Smith, of Amanda Road, Doncaster, was due to stand trial on a charge of causing death by careless driving, but at Nottingham Crown Court last week the prosecution dropped their case. Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said it was first thought it took about two seconds to cross the carriageway. But it was now realised it could possibly take three to four seconds.

The bike rider, who worked at Maltby Colliery, had been going too fast, the court heard. At an earlier hearing Smith’s counsel said the bike was going ‘in the region of 100mph’.

Judge Michael Stokes, the Recorder of Nottingham, said there were references on the internet to the deceased regularly driving his motorcycle very fast.

Miss Pritchard said the prosecution were aware of the internet material but it did not influence their decision to offer no evidence against the defendant. The judge entered a formal not guilty verdict.