Devastated wife of biker killed on Leeds road by charity rider says: 'Our hopes and dreams have gone'

Motorcyclist Robert “Bob” Baron suffered catastrophic head injuries after another biker, Allan Davis, overtook a car on a blind section near Bramham and caused the collision.

Mr Baron, a 57-year-old grandad and former soldier and Gulf War veteran, was put on life support having been taken to Leeds General Infirmary. His family were sat at his bedside as the agonising decision was taken to switch off the machine when doctors said he had no chance of recovery.

Davis, 68, was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Leeds Crown Court after he admitted causing death by careless driving.

Prosecutor Chloe Fairley read out the victim impact statement written by Mr Baron’s wife of 21 years, Carole.

She told the court: “We were all devastated. I have lost my best friend and soulmate. I have never felt so alone as I do now.

“All our hopes, dreams and plans have gone. I just exist day-to-day. I have not been able to sleep since it happened. When I close my eyes, I just see Bob laying broken in a hospital bed. All our hearts have been broken by Bob’s death. Our lives will never be the same again.”

Davis, of Abbots Road, Selby, was volunteering as a marshall for a charity bike ride on the morning of September 5, 2021, starting at Squires Cafe Bar in Sherburn in Elmet and finishing in Easingwold in North Yorkshire. It was to help raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

His job was to wait at checkpoints and ensure bikers were heading in the right way, then follow at the rear of the pack on his Honda.

At around 11.30am he was heading along West Woods Road near Bramham, when he approached a Bentley car heading in the same direction towards Wetherby.

He then began to overtake on the blind section caused by the gradient in the road and smashed into Mr Baron, who was on his bike heading in the opposite direction.

Mr Baron, who was from Richmond in North Yorkshire and not part of the charity ride, was thrown from his bike and is thought to have struck his head on a kerb. He suffered multiple fractures but crucially, the traumatic and unsurvivable brain injury.

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but died the following day. Davis, who also sustained seven broken ribs and a shoulder blade, was later charged with death by dangerous driving, which he denied and a trial date was set for 2025.

He later admitted death by careless driving, which was accepted by the Crown.

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Mitigating, Katherine Robinson said he was remorseful for the deadly manoeuvre and has to live with causing Mr Baron’s death.

She said he “carried out a lot of charity work” and on that day was helping to raise money for a good cause. She said he was also a carer for his wife who is blind.

Judge Richard Mansell KC described it as a “truly tragic case”. He said the view ahead of Davis was obscured by the road’s gradient and told him: “You should never have undertaken that manoeuvre when you did.”

Davis was banned from driving for two years.