A ‘valiant’ man who fought three separate cancer battles was killed when his crashed Fiat was ploughed into by a qualified nurse on her way home from seeing a friend in Oxford.

Mum-of-five Donna Ryan, 50, failed to see the stranded Fiat Panda – stuck in the middle of the road after it was hit by a drug driver minutes earlier – until it was too late.

Despite slamming on her brakes around a second before the collision, Ryan’s SsangYong Rodius Tourismo struck the smaller car side on. Victim Richard Potts, who was standing on the other side of the car, was hit by the shunted Panda and thrown into verge. He suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.

Ryan, of Crowsley Way, Sonning Common, pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court on Monday to causing death by careless driving. She had failed to turn on her full beam lights and she was doing an estimated 60 to 65mph on the 50mph road in the seconds before the crash on the A4074 near Goring Heath on March 2, 2020.

She was spared an immediate jail sentence by Judge Michael Gledhill QC, who in a lengthy set of sentencing remarks on Tuesday morning paid tribute to Mr Potts.

Addressing the victim’s family, who were sat in the public gallery in courtroom two, he said: “Richard Potts was a professional, honest, upstanding man who in his 41 years had done a huge amount of good.

“I have very much in mind the very brave fight that he fought against cancer on three separate occasions.

“He was a valiant man and you are all to be extremely proud of him.

“No words of mine can bring him back. No words of mine can make it easier for any of you.

“This was a tragic accident that should not have happened and he should be here with you today.

“But he isn’t and you have to bear that as best you can – and are bearing it.”

 

The A4074 at Deadmans Lane Picture: GOOGLE

The A4074 at Deadman's Lane Picture: GOOGLE

 

Earlier, prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said Mr Potts was driving home from Reading with his partner when his Fiat Panda was clipped by drug driver Daniel Wheeler, who was later fined for driving his Fiat Punto carelessly and over the limit for cocaine.

That prang, on the A4047 near Deadman’s Lane, a blind turning towards Goring Heath, left Mr Potts’ Panda side-on in the opposite lane.

Ryan, a qualified nurse, was on her way home to Sonning Common. She had spent the day seeing a friend in Oxford before stopping off at a pub. She was not over the drink driving limit.

The court heard data recorded automatically by the car suggested she had been travelling at around 65mph several seconds before the crash. She struck the Panda at 50-51mph. She had turned off her main beam headlights around a kilometre further up the road when she passed another car and had not switched them back on.

Mr Ward-Jackson said: “The combination of her speed and her dipped headlights was to prove fatal. Too late she saw the Panda nearly across her path. She braked but it was too little too late.”

Ryan was given 24 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for two years and banned from the roads for two years. She must pass an extended retest before she drives again.

In mitigation, it was said Ryan had five children including two with complex health needs. A qualified nurse, she had no previous convictions and a clean driving record. She had been left distraught by the crash and had asked if she could write a letter of apology to the victim’s family.

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