Prison sentence for driver who killed cyclist while speeding and used cocaine

A woman who hit and killed a cyclist who was speeding with a frosted windshield and driving under the influence of cocaine and marijuana was jailed.

Anya Foster, 32, of Gloucester Street, St Helens, was late for a 6am meeting when she set off from her home at 6.18am on the morning of December 1, 2023.

A short time later he rear-ended 59-year-old cyclist David Burrows at Island Brow in St Helens. Mr. Burrows was clearly visible; He was wearing a high-visibility vest, a bicycle helmet, and both the front and rear lights were illuminated by a solid beam.

The crash of Foster’s car caused his bike’s wheels to fold and his head to hit the windshield. Foster did not stop and continued his journey. It was later determined that he was traveling 41 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Later that morning, Mr Burrows was stopped by a passerby and an ambulance was called. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness and died the same day.

Police received an anonymous call from someone who said Foster told them he had been involved in a collision.

When police arrived at his home, they found his car parked near the garage to avoid detection, with obvious damage to the windshield.

Foster was spoken to and admitted he was the driver of the car and had been involved in a collision. The woman, who denied that her windshield was iced, said that she tried to defrost it for 10 minutes before setting off.

He admitted hitting something but said he did not stop, saying he saw the cyclist standing and assumed he was okay. He said he went to pick up his sister.

He was charged with causing death by reckless driving while under the influence of drugs.

He pleaded guilty to the charge at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on 5 November 2024 and was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. The sentence was reduced because he confessed his crime.

He was disqualified from driving for 11 years and 8 months and must take an extended retest before he can drive again.

Multiple Victim Personal Statements made by relatives of David Burrows were read to the court.

One said: “The person responsible for this did not have the decency to stop, this is absolutely incredible and inexcusable.

“Throughout no fault of his own, his life was cut short, this is not something we will forget or forgive and it will be with us for the rest of our lives.”

Another said: “On December 1, 2023 my life changed forever. My uncle Dave left his house that morning to go to work, thinking he would come home, but he never returned. You left my best friend, Uncle David, alone on the side of the road, in the dark, in the freezing cold, fighting for his life.

“You didn’t just kill my uncle that day, you also killed my family, his friends, his co-workers and many people around him.

“Arriving at the hospital to find out that your uncle was on life support and there was nothing they could do to help him broke me in more ways than I can describe. It was like the world was collapsing around me. I had ten minutes with him before I had to leave him forever. Ten minutes to tell him all the memories we have.”

Senior Crown Prosecutor Paul Shepherd, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Anya Foster got behind the wheel of her car that dark, cold morning under the influence of cocaine and cannabis.

“The windshield was frozen but he set off without properly defrosting it as he initially claimed and could not see clearly.

“The Crown Prosecution Service’s case was that Anya Foster collided with David Burrows because of these two factors.

“He compounded his offending by leaving the scene of the accident and failing to stop to see if Mr. Burrows was okay.

“This meant David Burrows was left seriously injured and alone on the road for a while on a cold winter’s day.

“His actions resulting from being late for his appointment left Mr Burrows’ family devastated, as their evidence to the court clearly shows. And now he’s been in prison for several years.

“The Crown Prosecution Service would like to extend its condolences to Mr Burrows’ family.”