Drunk nurse jailed for killing teenage cyclist

Heather Butler, 67, of Knedlington House, Knedlington, near Howden, hit 15-year-old Sam Brown’s bicycle as he was cycling home with a friend on the B1230 at Eastrington on September 6, last year.

Sam, who was cycling to Gilberdyke, was thrown onto the bonnet and windscreen and died of head injuries, while his friend, also 15, suffered a broken shoulder and other injuries.

Butler drove on for more than 200 metres before removing the bicycle and continuing her journey to the nursing home in Gilberdyke where she worked.

She admitted causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit, failing to report an accident, and failing to stop after an accident when she appeared at Hull Crown Court.

Jailing her for five years and four months, Judge Mark Bury said: “It was obvious to you, as it would have been obvious to any driver, that you had collided with Sam Brown. You drove for over 200 metres with his bicycle attached to your car and when you stopped some way up the road, you detached it and left it at the side of the road.

“You did not, as a nurse, go back to try to assist the person that you knew full well you had knocked down. As it turns out you would not have been able to assist.”