A motorist cleared of causing his friend's death after accelerating as he tried to overtake him has been jailed for dangerous driving.
When flatmates Ross Tyler and Darryl Townsley left their home together, Darryl's girlfriend got into Tyler's car and they were ahead of Darryl, who was on his motorbike.
As they travelled along Green Lane, in Ashington, Northumberland, one morning just before 8am in August 2020, Darryl decided to try to overtake Tyler. A witness saw how Tyler's car appeared to accelerate and was doing around 56mph on the 20mph road, which has traffic calming measures. Darryl then lost control as he tried to get back onto the right side of the road before a bend and crashed into a parked vehicle and suffered fatal injuries.
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Tyler, 35, of Aged Miners Cottages, Ashington, was found not guilty of causing 32-year-old Darryl's death by dangerous driving but convicted of dangerous driving. Now he has been locked up for six months at Newcastle Crown Court.
Judge Amanda Rippon told him: "For reasons we will never know, Mr Townsley decided to try to overtake you. He was on a bike that could easily have overtaken you.
"To overtake you he had to travel at up to, and probably over, three times the speed limit because that's the speed you were driving at. It's not your fault he wanted to overtake you.
"When he approached that bend and tried to get on the right side of the road, in case something was coming around the corner, he lost control and hit the kerb then a vehicle."
The judge added: "Our responsibility as drivers is to ensure everyone is safe. So when some lunatic on the A1 undertakes me, I don't speed up to try to stop them getting in front of me, I slow down and give them space.
"Driving on our public roads is a privilege and not a right. You don't accept that your driving even amounts to careless or inconsiderate.
"That's extremely concerning because it's plainly highly dangerous. You could have encountered an innocent bystander who could have been killed. It's only by chance that you did not."
The court heard the accident has had a "profound effect" on Tyler, who has PTSD. He stopped to try to help his friend.
Christopher Knox, defending, said: "He couldn't be more utterly distressed by this death. He was a good friend. He is very much affected by the death."
Mr Knox said Darryl "did not need to overtake at all" but said Tyler has learned a series of lessons as a result, including that speed kills.
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