THE MOTHER of a cyclist who was knocked over and killed has told of the immeasurable pain and heartache the loss has brought her family.
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Trevallyn’s Lewis Hendey, 21, was hit from behind on a clear summer’s morning as he cycled north with his best mate along the West Tamar Highway in December.
Yesterday Debbie Hendey told the Launceston Magistrates Court that her son’s many and varied ‘‘dreams and plans’’ had been stolen by negligence.
‘‘What made Lewis so special was he took dreams and plans and turned them into reality,’’ she said.
‘‘It only took two seconds for that to be eliminated.’’
Mrs Hendey said the world was a lesser place without her son who had plans to work in Antarctica.
‘‘Our life is now measured in before and after (his death),’’ she said.
‘‘As a family we struggle every day to get through this grief.’’
Family and friends of the talented and popular rower packed the courtroom.
Timothy Wayne Yole, 26,formerly of Launceston, pleaded guilty yesterday to killing Mr Lewis by negligent driving and driving without due care and attention.
It was Yole’s first appearance in court.
Police prosecutor Natalie Clark told the court Yole had set out at 8.20am from his Riverside home on December 29.
The visibility was excellent and the traffic flow light as he made his way to work at Sidmouth in his ute.
Travelling below the speed limit at 95 km/h Yole drove about 370 metres down the flat section of highway opposite the West Tamar Wetlands.
He’d noticed the cyclist warning signs along the route and spotted several bike riders travelling on the opposite side of the dual carriage.
Inexplicably he never saw the two riders directly up ahead wearing bright cycling outfits.
Turning his attention away from the road, apparently due to reflected sunlight, Yole’s next realisation was of Mr Hendey coming on to his front bonnet and hitting the windscreen.
Mr Hendey was thrown some 40 metres before coming to a rest in a roadside ditch.
The state’s forensic pathologist Dr Donald Ritchie, in his report, said Mr Hendey would have died almost instantly.
Police determined the sun was behind Yole at the time of the crash.
Investigators estimated he would have had a minimum of 14 seconds to see the cyclists up ahead.
Blood tests revealed he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and phone records indicated it was not being used at the time.
Yole, who has undergone counselling and relied on tranquilizers in the days following the crash, maintains that a light reflection obscured his vision.
However his lawyer Adrian Hall said his client readily took responsibility for the crash and had flown from Western Australia to plead guilty at the first available opportunity.
‘‘I have no idea why I haven’t seen him,’’ Mr Hall said Yole told investigating officers in an interview.
Mr Hall said any prison term should be wholly suspended.
Ms Clark said the death had a ‘‘severe and devastating impact"on the family and jail was appropriate.
Magistrate Reg Marron will sentence Yole next month.
Call to take care on roads
THE family of a young man killed while cycling has called for all road users to be vigilant after the driver responsiblepleaded guilty yesterday.
Timothy Wayne Yole will be sentenced next month for causing the death of Lewis Hendey, 21, by negligent driving.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Lewis’s uncle Ian Hendey urged "community, the local governments, the state government, and federal government to continue to work on making our roads safer for everyone’’.
Asked about the cyclists’ one-metre minimum passing rule being considered Mr Hendey said it was gathering widespread support.
‘‘It’s a rule that has been presented to federal parliament with a petition of over 30,000 signatures,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s a rule that Queensland are now trying.
‘‘So I encourage all members of parliament and the local community to continue to try and change the laws to make our roads safer for all users because nobody should have to to suffer the tragedies that occur when these accidents (happen)’’.
Mr Hendey said many questions about his nephew's death remain unresolved.
‘‘How someone can have a clear view and drive for 14 seconds and not see people, just doesn’t add up,’’ he said.
‘‘So therefore I encourage all drivers to take care on the road and be considering the surroundings at all times.’’
Mr Hendey said it had been an ‘‘enormously trying and difficult time’’ for the family.
‘‘Lewis will forever be in all our minds, all our memories, we’ll think of the happy times we had with him but the fact remains we don't get to continue a life with Lewis."