Driver given suspended sentence over crash that killed Willenhall grandfather

Gordon Finlay was given a 27-week suspended jail sentence after admitting the charge.

A court heard he caused the death of motorcyclist Malcolm Willis by veering into a gully and then oversteering into his path.

Finlay, 59, was also handed a two-year ban and will need to take an extended test before he can drive again.

Mold Crown Court heard Mr Willis, 67, was killed on a winding road near, Aberhosan, Machynlleth, in May last year.

David Mainstone, prosecuting, said Mr Willis was an experienced and careful biker.

But Mr Mainstone said Mr Willis had been unable to avoid a collision with a Citroen Picasso driven by Finlay. The car overturned in a field, and Mr Willis was thrown from his machine.

The crash was witnessed by his partner Annis Spinks, 62. “The day before the accident we had made plans for the future,” she said. “Now I have nothing.”

The prison van driver said: “Mac never stood a chance that day.”

Mr Mainstone said Finlay, of Ffordd Alban, Tywyn, Gwynedd, crawled from his upturned car. But Mr Willis died at the scene of multiple injuries.

Philip Clemo, mitigating, said Finlay was extremely ill and would be ‘wracked with guilt and the pain he’s caused for the rest of his life’.

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Finlay there was no suggestion of excessive speed but for an unknown reason his car had veered into a shallow gully and then swerved across the road.

The judge said Mr Willis was a ‘totally responsible’ motorcyclist.

He added that the tragedy was due to an error on Finlay’s part. The jail sentence was suspended for two years.