A FORMER Sellafield worker whose drink-fuelled careless driving caused the death of a much-loved pensioner had previously been convicted of drink driving.

Motorcyclist Raymond Hammil, 75, died in hospital three days after a head-on collision on the B5300 close to Maryport Golf Club on September 11, 2022. 

The man who caused the crash, 43-year-old former soldier Stuart Lithgow, was two and a half times the drink drive limit when he attempted an unsafe overtake and collided head on with the pensioner’s motorbike.

At his sentencing hearing before Carlisle Crown Court, it was revealed that the defendant was convicted of a drink driving offence in 2013.

Lithgow admitted causing Mr Hammil’s death by careless driving while he was over the prescribed alcohol limit. Prosecuting barrister Tom Farr outlined the facts.

Mr Hammil suffered multiple injuries after a head-on collision with the defendant’s car on the B5300 near to Maryport Golf Club on the afternoon of Sunday, September 11. He died in a Newcastle hospital three days later.

The barrister described how, before the fatal crash, a woman saw the defendant’s car overtake her on the B5300, between Allonby and Maryport.

“Just as I was leaving the village of Allonby, I was aware of a black Ford Fiesta travelling behind me,” she said.

The Fiesta was too close to her car and it was clear that the driver wanted to overtake. She recalled travelling towards Allerby at 55mph when she saw the defendant pull past her in his car.

He did so on a right-hand bend.

The woman added: “He certainly wouldn’t have had a clear view of what was travelling in the opposite direction. I was still travelling at 55mph when he flew passed me.

“There are opportunities to do overtakes on that road but where the Fiesta overtook me was not suitable for doing so. There was nothing travelling in front of me, and the Fiesta accelerated away into the distance and out of my sight.”

It was during a second overtaking manoeuvre as Lithgow attempted to drive past a Fiat Panda that the crash happened.

This was on a straight section of the road, about 200 to 300 metres away from Maryport Golf Club, when the Fiat driver clearly saw Mr Hammil’s Kawasaki motorbike travelling in the opposite direction.

When the motorbike was 20-30 metres away, on the correct side of the road, Lithgow pulled out and collided head on with Mr Hammil’s Kawasaki.

Lithgow’s car also clipped the Fiat, and then hit banking on the opposite side of the road before flipping on to its side.

Mr Hammil (pictured) was thrown towards the side of the road while his motorbike was flung onto the nearby golf course. The pensioner, who was still conscious, had suffered multiple injuries, including the loss of part of his right leg.

(Image: Family photo)

A roadside breath test confirmed that Lithgow had 91mcg of alcohol in every 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

When he was interviewed, the defendant told police he last drank alcohol the night before the crash, consuming four bottles of lager and a bottle of wine, and he did not think he would be over the limit.

Judge Nicholas Barker dismissed that claim. Even Lithgow’s defence barrister accepted that he must have consumed more than he claimed.

Lithgow said he believed he had enough space ahead of him to complete the overtake and he suggested Mr Hammil’s motorbike “came out of nowhere.”

Mr Farr added that Lithgow’s drink driving conviction in 2013 involved a reading of more than three times the permitted alcohol limit.

The court heard a moving statement from Mr Hammil’s son, who described his father as an “incredibly experienced” motorbike rider, sensible and well-controlled. “My father was a very kind, fun and active man,” he said.

He added that Mr Hammil will be missed by his family and friends and by the sea cadets whom he had helped.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said Lithgow had expressed genuine remorse and “struggled with alcohol” over the years.

A former soldier who completed two tours of duty in Bosnia and one in Northern Ireland, he struggled to control his mental health and the culture of heavy drinking he experienced in the Army and at rugby club events got out of control.

On the day of the accident, he had argued with a relative and went to the family caravan where he began drinking.

He was drinking well into the early hours, said the barrister.

Miss Whittlestone referred to character references, including one which said Lithgow feels a burden of “shame and embarrassment” and another which said: “He will never forget or forgive himself.”

Lithgow wants now to work towards encouraging other people to not drink and drive, added Miss Whittlestone.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted that Mr Hammil had been a “highly competent, experienced, and careful” motorbike rider.

Describing the accident, the judge told Lithgow: “You overtook and simply collided head on with Mr Hammil; your car then collided with [the car he was overtaking]. Mr Hammil was thrown from his bike...

“I reject any suggestion by you that you drank a bottle of wine and four beers the night before. If this alcohol reading was the result of drinking the night before you must have drank far in excess of that, or you had been drinking that day.

“I suspect it was the latter.

“You said Mr Hammil ‘came out of nowhere.’ The unvarnished truth is that he was very visible but because you were so intoxicated you were not able to take sufficient care and attention.

"You simply did not see him.”

Lithgow’s attempt to overtake was an “unsafe manoeuvre.” But the judge accepted that Lithgow, formerly of Priory Close, Frizington, was genuinely remorseful.

Judge Barker added: “Those who drive take on a great burden or responsibility because driving carries with it great danger. It’s incumbent on road users to take care and consideration of others.”

Lithgow failed to do that.

He jailed the defendant for six years and imposed a nine-year ban, which involves an extended retest before Lithgow can again drive independently. Three years of the ban reflects the time the defendant will spend behind bars.

The defendant has more recently had an address at Saltash Road, Keyham, Plymouth.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, of Cumbria Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This was a completely avoidable and tragic collision which resulted in a man suffering horrendous injuries and ultimately losing his life.

“The driver was significantly over the drink-drive limit at the time of the collision and multiple witnesses described him driving aggressively, particularly in his over-taking, prior to colliding head-on with Mr Hammil’s motorbike.

"There was nothing Mr Hammil could do to avoid the collision.

“It is my hope that this case at least serves as a reminder to all road users of the dangers of driving whilst impaired by drink or drugs.”