Biker jailed over fatal collision with pedestrian

An unlicensed motorcyclist has been jailed for killing a pedestrian in a collision on the A6110 ring road in Leeds.

Reece Manley was riding a Kawasaki motorbike when he hit 75-year-old Alan Lloyd as he crossed the road on 26 March 2022.

The 26-year-old denied causing death by dangerous driving but, during a trial at Leeds Crown Court in August, he admitted an alternate charge of causing death by careless driving.

Manley, of Welford Road, in Filey, also admitted driving without the relevant licence and insurance and was jailed on Wednesday for 14 months. He was also banned from driving for three years and seven months.

The court heard Mr Lloyd had been on his way home from a night out when the collision occurred, though prosecutor Christopher Rose said it was unclear how he had ended up on the A6110.

According to West Yorkshire Police, Manley was travelling towards the Wortley area from the direction of the M621 when he hit Mr Lloyd as he attempted to cross the road "not a designated pedestrian crossing".

Mr Lloyd died at Leeds General Infirmary later that night as a result of his injures.

Manley told a witness and a police officer Mr Lloyd "came out of nowhere".

The court heard Manley held a full A2 licence, which permits motorcyclists to ride bikes with a maximum power output of 35kw. The bike he was riding, however, had an output of 53kw, meaning he was not licensed nor insured to ride it.

Following the crash, Manley was convicted of a number of driving offences, including driving at 100mph in a 40mph zone.

Anastasis Tasou, defending, said Manley has ridden motorbikes since the age of five and was "not someone who recklessly got on a bike he can't control", adding that Mr Lloyd had crossed in an area "one might not expect someone to be crossing".

He then read a letter written by Manley to the court, which said: "For the last four-and-a-half years, I have lived with the knowledge that a man lost his life due to the collision."

In the letter, Manley said he "cannot begin to imagine the pain and heartache [Mr Lloyd's] friends and family have endured", adding there "has not been a day where it's not been on my mind".

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mr Lloyd's children said: "Our dad wasn't ready to go and we as a family were not prepared to lose him in such a way. We didn't get to hug dad; tell him we loved him and say goodbye.

"From this day our lives have been shattered. The stress and anxiety that the loss of dad has caused has been immense on all the family."

Passing sentence, Judge Mushtaq Khokhar described the loss Mr Lloyd's loved ones had endured as "incalculable".

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