Gloucestershire drug driver convicted after fatal crash

David Bond will be sentenced on 4 May

A driver who was involved in a fatal crash with a motorcyclist while eight times over the drug-driving limit has been found guilty of causing death by careless driving.

David Bond, 43, from Worrall Hill in Gloucestershire, had denied causing the death of Nigel Meadows on the A4136 at Brierley, the day after he had taken cocaine.

Mr Meadows died at the scene of the collision on 18 July 2020.

Bond will be sentenced on 4 May.

Following the verdict at Cirencester Courthouse, he was bailed for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

'Fatal consequences'

The jury heard how Bond was driving towards Coleford and Mr Meadows was riding in the opposite direction when the collision happened outside the entrance to Great Berry Quarry at Brierley.

The prosecutor, Richard Posner, told the court: "Bond tried to manoeuvre his car across the road into a layby.

"The consequences for Mr Meadows were fatal."

Mr Meadows' motorbike hit the front passenger side door of Bond's car.

A blood sample taken from Bond later that afternoon showed benzoylecgonine in his blood, which was there as a result of him having taken cocaine.

This was measured at 400 mcgs, eight times higher than the legal driving limit.

Speaking on Bond's behalf, barrister Richard Paton-Philip told the jury: "He accepts that he did have benzoylecgonine in his body. He accepts that it exceeded the legal limit for that drug.

"However, he does not accept it adversely affected the standard of his driving nor was he distracted by his mobile phone or anything else for that matter."

Judge Moira Macmillan indicated that a custodial sentence was likely.

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