‘I had to lean down in the road to kiss him goodbye’: Heartbroken widow reveals how she found her husband dead after he was knocked off his bike by woman ‘singing along’ to music

A woman found her husband dead on the side of the road after hearing the sound of a car hitting his motorbike a few hundred meters away.

A court heard that Lynda Hewitt was aware that husband Robert, 40, was traveling home and checked a phone tracking app for his whereabouts after hearing the sickening sound of scraping metal while pottering in her garden.

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement, Mrs Hewitt said: “I had to lean over on the road to kiss my husband of more than 40 years,” Mrs Hewitt added.

The tragic chain of events was outlined during the sentencing hearing of driver Ruth Upsall, 28, who drove straight into the back of Mr Hewitt’s motorcycle while ‘singing along’ to music.

Ruth Upsall, aged 28, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt’s death by careless driving during her first court appearance

A court heard the motorist inexplicably failed to see the 64-year-old motorcyclist, who indicated he was turning onto a secondary road near his home in Frampton Fen on the A52 in Lincolnshire.

Jon Dee, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that after checking the tracking app, Mrs Hewitt went to her husband’s location at the scene of the accident.

“She eventually saw her husband lying dead by the side of the road,” Mr Dee said.

The collision happened at around 3.45pm on October 9 last year when Mr Hewitt stopped and turned right onto Fen Road.

“For some reason, which must have been inattention, the defendant did not notice his presence and drove straight into him,” Mr Dee explained.

Mr Dee argued that it must have been more than a temporary period of inattention.

“What was missed was a motorcycle that had been stationary for some time with the turn signal on,” he added.

The court heard Upsall stopped at the scene but Mr Hewitt died from neck and head injuries despite the presence of an air ambulance.

During her police interview, Upsall – a recovery worker for a mental health charity who has a master’s degree in forensic psychology – said she only saw Mr Hewitt when he was a few car lengths away.

She claimed to have braked, but there was no evidence of this on the road.

Mr Dee told the court: ‘There was music and she was singing along.’

Upsall, of Heron Way, Boston, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Hewitt’s death by careless driving during her first appearance in court.

Mrs Hewitt read out her victim impact statement in which she described her husband, known as Bob, as her “soulmate” and explained how they married after just three weeks together.

Mrs Hewitt also described the horror of hearing the scraping metal sound of the crash from her garden and the air ambulance approaching.

Mr Dee said evidence had also been submitted on Mr Hewitt’s behalf from ‘all over the world’.

Neil Sands, mitigating for Upsall, said she was a young woman who had spent her working life helping people who had suffered trauma, and argued she was suitable for a suspended sentence.

“This will never leave her,” Mr. Sands added.

Jailing Upsall for ten months on Thursday, Recorder John Philpotts told Upsall that although speed was not a factor in the collision, he could not overlook the fact that she had previously been convicted of speeding.

Recorder Philpotts said: ‘Mr Hewitt made his intention known well in advance, an independent witness made that clear.

‘You just weren’t properly concerned and you didn’t see Mr Hewitt.

“You told the police you were listening to music in your car.”

Upsall, from Boston, Lincolnshire, was also banned from driving for 17 months.