Man gets suspended prison sentence for causing the death of a 78-year-old
A 25-year-old man has been given a suspended prison sentence for causing the death of a 78-year-old woman in a road collision at Ashby de la Launde.
According to Lincolnshire Police, Keatan Gale, 25, of Sandsfield Lane, Gainsborough, was sentenced on April 2, 2025 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court to 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving and causing serious injury by careless driving.
He was also banned from driving for a total of three years and must undertake 200 hours of unpaid community service.
The Ford tipper truck driver admitted causing the death of 78-year-old Jean Hanson when he was involved in a three vehicle collision at Ashby De La Launde.
Police said Gale was travelling towards Lincoln on the A15 at about 4.20pm on June 8, 2023 when he failed to notice that the line of traffic ahead of him had come to a stop, waiting for a vehicle to turn right off the main road.
Gale then collided with the rear of a Hyundai i20 which was slowing due to the stationary vehicles ahead pushing it into an oncoming Renault Clio travelling towards Sleaford. The occupants of the Hyundai received serious injuries, with the 78-year-old front seat passenger, Jean Hanson, sadly dying from her injuries seven weeks later.
The driver of this car, an 82-year-old man, was also seriously injured in the collision.
Following an investigation by the force’s Serious and Forensic Collision Investigation Units Gale was charged with causing death by careless driving, having failed to react to the slowing traffic in front of him. Technical examinations of the vehicles found no defects that could have contributed to the collision.
Police said data obtained from modules in the vehicles involved found that prior to the collision, Gale was travelling at 51mph and only began to brake one second before impact, although Mr Hanson’s vehicle had slowed to 5mph at the point of collision. The collision caused extensive damage to all the vehicles involved.
In interview, Gale, provided an account based on his recollections of what had occurred, but the technical work undertaken was able to establish the actual sequence of events, and that Gale’s late braking had initiated the collision despite him believing otherwise.
Commenting after the case, Detective Sergeant James Perring, from Lincolnshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This collision demonstrates the importance of concentrating when driving. A driver’s awareness of what is occurring around them is critical in ensuring everyone reaches their destination safely.
“Lack of concentration when driving can all too easily lead to a collision. This is why we always advocate leaving plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front to ensure that you have plenty of time to react to events ahead of you. Unfortunately, in this case, Gale has failed to react appropriately to the slowing traffic ahead of him with devastating results.”