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Daily Record
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Mark Naylor & Hannah Mackenzie Wood

Mum's world 'shattered' after 'loving son' killed by dangerous driver

A popular moped driver was killed in a horror crash when a motorist travelling in the other direction pulled out to overtake a lorry and smashed into him.

Samuel Alder was heading home from work when the other driver failed to see his bike headlight and pulled out in front of him, causing the fatal collision.

The 20-year-old victim's family were left devastated by his tragic death, with his mother saying her world had been 'shattered', Hull Crown Cour t was told.

Antony Pridham , 48, denied causing the death of Mr Alder by dangerous driving on August 22, 2020, however was later convicted by a jury after the case went to trial, Hull Live reports.

Mr Alder, of Howden, was riding a 125cc moped home from work when the accident happened on the A614 between Howden and Holme-on-Spalding Moor at about 9.30pm.

Pridham was driving a Skoda Kodiaq in the opposite direction at the time and had just overtaken a large lorry. Judge Sophie McKone said that Mr Alder was returning home from a job that he loved, working with people with special needs who loved him. Pridham was travelling in the opposite direction and was close behind a lorry on a straight, unlit rural road.

"You decided to overtake, despite not being able to have a clear view of the road ahead," said Judge McKone. "You did not pay proper attention to the road ahead. If you had, you would have seen the light of Samuel's moped coming towards you and you would have dropped behind that lorry."

The sight of Mr Alder's light would have been clearly visible and within his sight for a number of seconds but Pridham failed to see it until it was too late. The car hit Mr Alder's moped and he was killed instantly.

Every parent's nightmare became a reality when Mr Alder was killed but, although no one was suggesting that Pridham "deliberately set out to take a life", his dangerous actions had resulted in the loss of a much-loved son and family man. Mr Alder's mother would never see him become a husband and a father and her life and that of her family had changed forever.

Judge McKone accepted that Pridham has been deeply affected by the incident. "You will have to live with the guilt of what you have done for the rest of your life," she said.

Antony Pridham was jailed for two-and-a-half years. (Humberside Police)

Mr Alder's mother, Angela Clayton, said in a statement that she read to the court that he was loved by her, his brothers and other members of the family. "Now my world has been shattered," she said.

Every day, she woke up with the knowledge that he was not coming home and that he was not coming home and it never got any easier. She had worked as a paramedic, a "dream job" that she loved, but she later had to give it up. She had suffered flashbacks. Her son, who was handsome and cheeky, had wanted to be a father.

"He would have been such a good father," she said. "We miss his smile, his sense of humour and his quest to be the best he could. He didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Mark Cotter QC, mitigating, said that Pridham had no previous convictions and had in the past shown exemplary conduct, including being involved in volunteering and behaving selflessly and living his life to assist others. "He lives his life in accordance with his faith, trying to help others," said Mr Cotter.

Pridham had admitted causing death by careless driving but not by dangerous driving. "He has never sought to blame anybody else," said Mr Cotter. "He has expressed remorse and that remorse is genuine. The personal impact upon him has been significant. He has undergone counselling. He will lose his job."

Pridham, of High Street, Doncaster, was jailed for two-and-a-half years. He was banned from driving for three years and three months and will have to pass an extended retest before he can drive again.

After the hearing, Mr Alder's family declined to comment.

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