A paramedic who drank 10 pints of Guinness before crashing into a cyclist at 60mph as he drove to a house party has been jailed for causing his death.
Robert Woodruff, 36, who was off duty at the time, ignored his wife’s pleas to drive to the pick-up seven miles away, despite being at least twice over the drink-drive limit.
His Nissan Juke crashed into cyclist Richard Goodwin, 56, as he cycled home on the A1033 in East Yorkshire, killing him instantly.
Woodruff was jailed at Hull Crown Court for five years and four months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving.
The court heard that Mr Goodwin was appropriately dressed and clearly visible as he cycled home from a friend’s barbecue on June 26 last year.
Woodruff was seen driving dangerously close to the car in front of him, leaving only about half a second gap between the two vehicles.
He tried to overtake, narrowly avoided hitting an oncoming vehicle, swerved and hit Mr Goodwin on his bike, killing him instantly.
Woodruff’s car careened down the verge, over a ditch and hurtled through trees and brush before coming to rest in the front garden of a nearby cottage, 100 meters away.
Nearly three hours later at the hospital, Woodruff’s blood alcohol level was still twice the legal limit for drunk driving.
Jeremy Evans, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Words cannot adequately describe the absolute devastation and heartbreak this defendant has caused the Goodwin family.
“Woodruff was an on-call paramedic and trained EMS driver. His incredibly reckless actions that day are completely incomprehensible.
“It is also difficult to imagine a more complete betrayal of the values of his profession as a paramedic.
“Our hearts go out to the entire Goodwin family and we hope the sentence Woodruff begins today will be of some comfort to them in the months and years to come.”
“Our thoughts remain with them.”
Woodruff was disqualified from driving for seven years and eight months and must pass an extended test before he can drive again.
SWNS
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