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Motorist who slowed to just 10mph on motorway in bid to make slip road killed motorcyclist behind who lost control of his bike as he tried to brake
By Liz Hull PUBLISHED: 14:00, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 23:46, 9 August 2013

Mark Walsh was driving along M65 when he slowed down to take slip road
Motorcyclist Peter Sarchet braked and lost control when front wheel locked
Walsh was jailed for 20 months at Preston Crown Court today
The 43-year-old was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving

Jailed: Mark Walsh has been jailed for 20 months after he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving
An engineer who killed a motorcyclist after driving too slowly on a motorway fought back tears as he was jailed yesterday.
Mark Walsh, 43, ‘invited catastrophe’ when he braked suddenly to take a slip road, a court heard.
He was travelling at less than 10mph in rushhour traffic when motorcyclist Peter Sarchet, 41, who was behind Walsh’s car, tried to stop to avoid a collision but lost control of his Yamaha.

The father of three fell off his bike and slid under Walsh’s Vauxhall Insignia, where he was trapped.
A passing RAC recovery driver stopped and jacked up the car to try to free Mr Sarchet, but he had suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead in hospital.
When questioned by police, Walsh offered no explanation as to why he had ‘all but stopped’.
He was not using his mobile phone and had simply slowed down on the M65 in Lancashire to take the turn-off for the M61, he said.

Walsh did not give evidence in his defence during the four-day trial at Burnley Crown Court last month when he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. At Preston Crown Court yesterday he was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for three years.
Robert Elias, prosecuting, told the court that at 7am on November 1, 2011, Walsh, from Hapton, near Burnley, was driving along the M65, near Walton-Le-Dale, to his office in Warrington.

‘For no reason... the defendant slowed down very quickly,’ Mr Elias said. ‘[He] all but stopped and was inviting catastrophe. No competent driver would consciously drive at less than 10mph on the motorway.
'There was no good reason for him to brake heavily. If someone is driving at less than 10mph on a motorway, he is an accident waiting to happen.’

Mr Sarchet, a retail manager, was travelling at between 37mph and 45mph, the jury was told.
mark walsh
Walsh told police he had been travelling at 70mph, keeping up with the flow of traffic, but moved to the inside to take the exit on to the M61.
'He said he heard a loud bang at the back of the vehicle, but did not remember feeling any impact. His car stalled and when he started it, a man came running along the hard shoulder shouting to him not to drive it, he claimed.

Alistair MacDonald, QC, defending, told the court Walsh was a hard-working ‘family man’. ‘This was the briefest of moments giving rise to this offence,’ he added.
Walsh was travelling to work on the M65 with other commuters when he suddenly slowed down to less than 10mph to take a slip road
Peter Sarchet, 41, who was riding his Yamaha behind Walsh, was forced to brake and lost control of his machine when his front wheel locked

Walsh (left) was traveling to work on the M65 with other commuters when he suddenly slowed down to less than 10mph to take a slip road. Peter Sarchet (right) was forced to brake and lost control of his machine when his front wheel locked

Scene: A view of the M65 motorway near to the junction with the M6, close to the spot where the accident happened
Statement: In a prepared statement Walsh said he was a family man and was of good character
But, passing sentence, Judge Robert Altham, told Walsh: ‘You gratuitously braked hard and veered to the left while in the slow lane with such suddenness that you came to a rapid halt at what was a fairly busy time.
‘The life that was lost as a result was a fine life. You never accepted responsibility for that day.’
In a statement, Mr Sarchet’s widow, Jill, said: ‘Peter was a devoted family man and lived for his children. Our loss cannot be described.’
Later, a personal injury expert said it was a ‘very unusual case’.
Navdip Gill, a partner at Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors, said rear-end crashes were almost always the fault of the driver behind.
‘The law says motorists should always heed the presence of the vehicle in front and be aware of their surroundings, so the rule of thumb is that the driver who hits the rear of the vehicle in front is almost always the responsible party.
‘It is only in exceptional circumstances that the driver travelling behind is not held responsible, or partially responsible.’
He said exceptional circumstances included a car deliberately pulling out in front of another driver and reckless braking.

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