Speeding Driver Killed Man On A10 Just Before Christmas

A speeding van driver who struck and killed a pedestrian two days before Christmas has been handed a suspended sentence.

Ian Rule, 53, of Primes Close, Barrington, was driving a white Peugeot van on the A10 near Melbourn on Sunday 23rd December in 2018.

He was travelling on his nine-mile journey to work at approximately 5.30am when he came to a sweeping left-hand bend in the road.

As he turned he struck a pedestrian from behind who was dressed all in black and walking in the middle of the road.

Rule stopped and flagged down another vehicle for help with CPR, but the pedestrian, 30-year-old Jason Pallett of Black Smiths Lane, Reed, Royston, died at the scene.

Mr Pallett had been on a night out in Cambridge and had then got a taxi to Foxton before planning to walk the rest of the way home on the A10 towards Royston.

A forensic collision investigation report revealed Rule’s dashcam had captured him driving at 79mph at the time of the fatal collision, despite the road’s speed limit of 50mph for his panel van.

The report also noted there was no street lighting at the time of the collision and no foot paths. It had also been raining and the roads were damp.

Rule was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday (10th August), he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.

PC Fay Millen said: “There is nothing that highlights the danger and devastation speeding causes more than heart-breaking cases like this one.

“Speeding is one of the fatal four causes of collisions on our roads, together with not wearing a seatbelt, using a mobile phone behind the wheel and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“Although he accepted a lesser plea, Rule’s actions that morning led to a family losing someone they held so dear just two days before Christmas and who had gone out to celebrate his 30th birthday.

“Nothing can bring Mr Pallett back, but I hope his family are now able to move on and get some closure. Speed limits are not targets and speeding can have truly devastating consequences.”

Rule was sentenced on the same day he entered his plea and was handed eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for one year.