A drunk carer hit an oncoming motorcycle on a gentle bend as she drove her van after downing five pints of lager and two Jägerbomb drinks in a St Ann's pub, a court heard. Julieanne Walsh left the pub at 8.17pm to begin her journey.
She went to her van parked outside and appeared to struggle a bit to get into the vehicle. She stumbled out, nearly falling over, but was able to grab the door frame and pull herself into the driver's seat. The van was witnessed being poorly driven and tailgating another vehicle, before overtaking.
Moments later the van crossed over the white lines on a slight left hand bend at Burntstump Hill. Mark Osborne, 48, was on his motorbike travelling north on the A60 towards Mansfield on July 25, 2021.
It looked as though the point of contact was the van driver's wing mirror and part of the motorbike, causing Mr Osborne, a married dad, to lose control and veer over to a left hand verge. He hit the verge and he was thrown from his bike and hit a traffic post. He tragically died at the scene.
READ MORE: Van driver sentenced over fatal motorbike crash in Nottinghamshire
Walsh, who recalled there was a collision with her van's wing mirror and no more, was arrested at home. Police used part of a broken wing mirror, ANPR cameras and CCTV to trace Walsh four to five hours afterwards. The van had damage consistent with being in a collision with the motorcycle.
Breath samples were provided to police. The lower of two readings was 66 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the limit of 35.
A back calculation was done indicating a breath alcohol no lower than 93 micrograms of alcohol at the approximate time of collision. Walsh, 32, of Abbott Road, Mansfield, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when over the drink drive limit and was jailed on Tuesday, June 14, for five years, of which she will serve half.
A driving ban of was imposed for five-and-a-half years.
Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, said: "Julieanne Walsh on July 25, 2021, you drove whilst drunk and you caused the death of a lovely human being, Mark Osborne".
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