Nicole Cummings was hit by an HGV when she was sleeping rough outside the Shell garage on Scotland Road last year
The heartbroken dad of a young woman who was run over by an HGV said his life fell apart and “spiralled into a very dark place”. Nicole Cummings, 24, was sleeping rough outside the Shell garage on Scotland Road, Everton, on August 10 last year when she was hit by Alec Keiran as he mounted the kerb in his Volvo truck.
At Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, September 26 Nicole’s dad Christopher said: “My only daughter was taken away from me and I’ll never see her again. From the minute we became aware something had happened to Nicole, our lives had been irreversibly changed and damaged.
“Since the day I was told Nicole had been killed by a lorry, my world fell apart. The news sent me spiralling into a very dark place. I couldn’t believe my baby girl was gone.” Philip Asprey, prosecuting, told the court that Keiran, 52 and Daisy Meadow in Bamber Bridge, was making deliveries to Spa shops around Merseyside when he attempted to turn left from Scotland Road onto Wilbraham Street, and into the petrol station forecourt at around 8.30am on the day of the incident.
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Mr Asprey said: “He knew this was to be a tight manoeuvre. The turn was more difficult because an Audi had parked on the pavement immediately on the side of the forecourt entrance, to the off-side of the defendant’s vehicle, and as he started to turn the defendant saw what he believed to be a bin bag and a folded duvet on the pavement to his near-side.
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“On checking his mirror and avoiding the Audi and the shop itself, it’s clear the near side of the vehicle would cut across the pavement and over that which he had seen. The defendant informed officers he was aware he would be mounting the kerb and cutting across the pavement, and later said: ‘If it’s a wheelie bin or anything like that, it’s going to move if the trailer gets too close. It’s just going to move out of the way’.
“Tragically, that which the defendant had seen was not refuse, but the victim, Nicole Cummings. She was asleep on the ground and the rear wheels of the vehicle passed directly over her, causing catastrophic injuries.” Nicole was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem ruled her cause of death was “multiple crush injuries to the neck, head and chest”.
In a statement addressed to Keiran, Nicole’s mum Vanessa Thompson said: “The day you took my baby girl away from me was the day my world stood still. Why did you do that? My other children are also forever broken and we’ll never get over what you did to us as a family. That day you broke me and us into a million pictures that we will never heal from.
“Nicole was my first daughter. She was my little bundle of joy and like any parent I wondered what she would be like when she grew up. I’ll never know now because you took that from me. I miss her smile, I miss our daily chats, and I miss her arms around me. Most of all we just miss having her in our lives. Our world without her is dark and lonely place because of what you have done.”
Nicole’s dad Mr Cummings added: “12 months before Nicole died, she was in hospital for some time, quite poorly. I was with her almost every day. While there, she made me a Father’s Day card, and even though she was in a lot of pain she still managed to make it for me.
“This card means so much more to me now as it’s the last card I ever had from her. I miss my daughter so much and nothing will change that. Will the impact of losing her ever get easier? Only time will tell. It’s been a year now, and it still feels like yesterday.”
Keiran, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. The court heard the 53-year-old’s lorry was equipped with cameras, and if he had turned on an indicator as he turned, this would have brought up a clear image of Nicole sleeping on the ground. He had also been given a risk assessment by his employer about the area, which warned: “Busy forecourt with cars and customers in the area. If in any doubt, get out of the vehicle and check the surrounding area.”
John Dye, defending, said: “In hindsight he would have got out of the vehicle. In hindsight he would have changed everything. He’s absolutely devastated. Devastated not for himself, but for what he has put the family through.
“He’s a man of good character. He was immediately remorseful for what happened, cooperative with police, a full, clean driving licence. It’s indicative how well he’s thought of that he no longer drives for this company – he hasn’t driven since this happened – but has kept on there in a different role.”
Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: “Nicole Cummings was only 24. She was, at the time, going through a difficult phase in her short life. She clearly had a problem with drugs and she was homeless and sleeping rough. None of these issues makes her life any less valuable or her death any less tragic.
“She was a loved sister, daughter and granddaughter. She will be sorely missed by her siblings, parents and grandparents, from whom I have heard moving statements speaking of their devastation of her loss.” Keiran was jailed for 12 months for causing death by careless driving and was also issued with a 12 month driving ban to commence upon his release.
