Gloucestershire drug driver jailed after fatal A4136 crash

David Bond was found guilty of causing death by careless driving

A driver who caused the death of a motorcyclist while eight times over the drug-driving limit has been jailed for five years.

David Bond, 43, from Worrall Hill, in Gloucestershire, had denied causing the death of Nigel Meadows on the A4136 near Coleford on 18 July 2020.

Gloucester Crown Court heard he was coming down from a high, having taken cocaine the day before.

Mr Meadows' wife Sue said her life had been a "living a nightmare" ever since.

In a victim impact statement she added: "My whole world has fallen apart."

Bond claimed that the cocaine he had taken the night before the crash had no impact on his ability to drive, but following a trial he was found guilty of causing death by careless driving.

'Numb with grief'

Mrs Meadows said that she has been "emotional, empty and numb with grief".

"I've been living a lonely existence ever since he was taken from us. I still can't believe Nigel isn't coming home," she added.

Mr Meadows' daughter, Frankie Greenway, said: "My best mate has gone and my life will never be the same."

Born and bred in Longhope, Nigel Meadows was said to be well-known in the local community

The court heard 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.

Bond had tried to manoeuvre his car across the road into a layby, when Mr Meadows' motorbike hit the front passenger side door of Bond's car.

Mr Meadows died at the scene of the collision.

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.

Fatal consequences

Prosecutor Richard Posner said: "That reading, the prosecution say, is consistent with him coming down from the 'high' he had experienced the night before.

"His lapse of judgement caused him to drive carelessly into the path of a motorbike rider who was using the road safely.

"The consequences for Mr Meadows were fatal."

Richard Paton-Philip, representing Bond, told the court his client had been "haunted" by the events of 18 July 2020 and that he had "not touched any illegal substances since".

Sentencing Bond earlier, Judge Moira Macmillan said "there is no sentence this court can pass to compensate" Mr Meadows' family's loss.

'Lied to officers'

Speaking directly to the defendant, she told him: "A police collision expert believes Mr Meadows would have been in your line of sight for three to four seconds. Yet you failed to see him.

"The motorbike's exhaust was loud and Mr Meadows was wearing high visibility clothing.

"When you were tested by the police at the site of the collision, you lied telling the officers that you didn't use drugs, despite being found positive from a drug swipe.

"There is no doubt your level of intoxication was high - eight times over the drug-drive limit.

"There is a zero tolerance to this type of driving."

The judge passed sentence of five years' imprisonment and five years' driving disqualification once Bond leaves prison.

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