A father-of-two who was due to be married, died after being knocked down by a motorist who had been awake for 20 hours.
A father-of-two who was due to be married, died after being knocked down by a motorist who had been awake for 20 hours.
Jack Bristow, aged 39, from Irchester, was waiting to be picked up by his fiancée of 12 years when he was struck by a Land Rover on the A45 at Collingtree, Northampton shortly after 4am on July 12.
John Teague, aged 43, of Rothsay Road, Kingsley, Northampton, failed to see him despite the former serviceman wearing a high-visibility jacket.
Rebecca Herbert, prosecuting at Northampton Crown Court, said: “The Crown does not accept this was a momentary loss of concentration.
“Had he been driving with proper due care and attention, the defendant would have seen the deceased for 13 seconds before the collision.”
Explaining why Mr Bristow was waiting at the side of the road, Mrs Herbert said: “It seems his partner, Pearl Bauk, arrived to pick him up and saw him waiting for her by the garage. She slightly overshot the turn to the garage so continued onto the M1 roundabout about 800 metres away, turned round and came back the other way.
“She did indeed return on the eastbound carriageway but could see no sign of him at all.”
Mr Bristow had been struck from behind, by the side of the carriageway, and his body was thrown into long grass. Three hours later, a cyclist saw him and contacted the police.
The court heard Teague twice returned to the scene, concerned he had hit something, but told police he thought it was a deer.
He then went home and smoked two bags of heroin before handing himself in at 5pm the same day, after being told by his employer who heard about the accident on the news.
Mrs Herbert said: “The conclusion is the defendant fell asleep at the wheel.”
Teague pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for 24 weeks, with a 12-month driving ban.