Biker banned over Dales death crash

Carl Buckingham, 35, from Darlington, was also sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for two years at Teesside Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by careless driving.

On September 3 last year, he was riding in a group of four motorcyclists on the A684 between Swinithwaite and Aysgarth, when another of the bikers, Mark Chadfield, was killed in a collision with an Isuzu Rodeo 4x4. Buckingham, riding a Yamaha R6 motorcycle, failed to safely negotiate a left hand bend and crossed into the path of oncoming traffic.

His manoeuvre forced the driver of the Isuzu, Steve Dawson, to swerve towards the centre of the road, colliding head-on with Mr Chadfield. The 34-year-old, from Darlington, was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.