Yahoo News Family's heartache after Royal Navy engineer killed by scooter rider
The heartbroken family of a talented young man have remembered the "kind, thoughtful, ambitious and driven" individual who "lit up every room he walked into", after his killer's sentencing.
Royal Navy Air Engineering Technician Rohan Hicks tragically lost his life when Lawrence King collided with the motorcycle Rohan was riding while King tried a perilous overtaking move.
Rohan was just 21. He had enlisted in the Royal Navy in 2019, and had a promising career serving his country laid out before him.
The crash happened on the evening of June 29, 2022 on the B3252 at Horningtops near Liskeard. Rohan died at the scene in the arms of his dad - an off-duty emergency medical technician who had hurriedly arrived at the location - deeply worried about his son's wellbeing.
Read more:
King, of Bay Tree Hill, Liskeard, who suffered life-altering injuries in this catastrophic crash, was given his sentence for causing Rohan's death at Truro Crown Court on Friday, May 17, as reports CornwallLive. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, as well as being banned from driving for five years
The court heard 31-year-old King attempted to overtake a car on a hill but struggled to and lost control of his red Honda FES Pantheon scooter, giving Rohan no time to take evasive action on his own bike.
Judge Robert Linford said: "Rohan had been driving his motorcycle and was doing nothing wrong. He was a blameless young man with a fine past and a really promising future who was driving on the correct side of the road under the speed limit.
"As a consequence of your actions he suffered an unsurvivable head injury and died, leaving his family devastated. Rohan's father was a paramedic who attended the scene and watched his own son die in front of his eyes. The dignified statements his parents have read out in court have been among the most heart-breaking I have heard."
Judge Linford added: "You are devastated by what you have done. Rohan died because of your unsafe manoeuvre. Why did you do that and not avoid him? It's undeniable that Rohan was a remarkable, kind, well-liked and much loved young man with a bright future stretched out in front of him. His family have lost a son, a grandson, a brother, a nephew, a boyfriend and a friend.
"No sentence can do anything to alleviate their hurt and suffering nor can it bring Rohan back. Your feeling is that if any sentence could bring Rohan back you would embrace that with relish. The impact of this tragedy has been profound on you but never as profound as on the family of Rohan. I am not trying to match Rohan's life against this sentence. It is not just another case appearing before another judge. This is a devastating a tragic case."
As well as the suspended prison sentence and driving ban, King will have to take an extend retest before he is ever allowed to drive again.
Post-trial, Rohan's grieving family expressed their sorrow. They said: "On June 29, 2022 Rohan was cruelly taken from us, our precious son. The pain of his loss is physical and emotional and comes in waves throughout every single day. It is unbearable to accept that we will never see Rohan again.
"Many of our family try to imagine that he is on deployment and may walk back through the door again, complaining about being hungry."
They added: "Rohan was a proud AET (aircraft engineer technician) in the Royal Navy, as a family we are so unbelievably proud of what Rohan achieved in his very short life, he was kind, thoughtful, ambitious and driven. He lit up every room he walked into with his infectious personality, sense of humour, beautiful smile and generosity of spirit. Rohan had a good moral compass and was a credit to his family and friends.
"Rohan and our family have been robbed of a future happiness, Rohan will never marry and have the children that he wanted. Our lives will be forever poorer for not having Rohan in them, as will the people that he was yet to meet and the family that he would have had."
King, who, when interviewed by police in March 2023 after recovering from his own injuries, told Devon and Cornwall Police officers that on seeing the light coming towards him, he "yanked on the brake" but couldn’t get back into the correct lane in time. The sentencing hearing on Friday (May 17) was told that King had been entirely in the wrong lane while Rohan was completely blameless.
Serious collision investigator PC Helen Lentern said: "This tragic case highlights the importance of conducting safe overtakes. Before conducting an overtake, drivers and riders must ensure the road is sufficiently clear ahead, other road users are not beginning to overtake you and there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake. Do not overtake if there is any doubt or where you might come into conflict with other road users.
