Louise Wright cyclist death: Lorry driver Adam Haywood guilty

Cyclist Louise Wright died when she was struck by Adam Haywood's lorry

A lorry driver has been found guilty of killing a cyclist who was dragged under the wheels of his truck at a junction.

Louise Wright, 29, was cycling to work when she was dragged under Adam Haywood's beer delivery truck in July 2014.

Prosecutors said Haywood, 31, from Whitwell in Derbyshire, failed to check his mirrors before turning left at traffic lights in Nottingham.

He was found guilty of causing death by careless driving by a majority verdict.

Adam Haywood denied causing Ms Wright's death by careless driving

He was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and has been banned from driving for two years.

A judge also ordered him to do 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,500 in costs.

Speaking after the verdict, Ms Wright's mother Sharon Brown said: "Nobody is a winner in this. It is just tragic what has happened. I do feel the right verdict has been reached and the sentence was fair.

"I don't get to spend any more time with her, I don't get to spend a future with her, I don't get to witness her being a wife, a mother, I don't get to be a grandmother.

"Just one short moment in time, one lapse of concentration. You think to yourself, 'what if?'. If she'd just chosen a different route... we might not be here.

"Just one short moment and it's changed everything."

This ghost bike and other tributes to Louise Wright were left close to the spot where she was killed

Judge Jonathan Bennett said he had to "balance justice and mercy".

"There are no winners in this particular case," he said.

The trial at Derby Crown Court heard how Haywood had stopped at the lights when Miss Wright cycled down the left side of his lorry and waited near the front of his vehicle.

Jurors were told it is not illegal for a cyclist to come up the inside of a lorry, but the Highway Code recommends not to do so.

The accident happened at the junction of Lower Parliament Street and Pennyfoot Street

The prosecution claimed Miss Wright would not have realised Haywood intended to turn left as he did not have his indicators on.

Mr Haywood told the jury he could not remember if he had put on his indicators, but that was his normal practice.

Jurors were told there is nothing in law to say that a driver must indicate, but the Highway Code says they should.

In his evidence he claimed he checked his mirrors before turning left but did not see Miss Wright, and he believed she must have been in his blind spot.

Miss Wright was killed instantly in the accident, which happened at the junction of Lower Parliament Street and Pennyfoot Street in Nottingham city centre on 3 July 2014.