A businessman who lost control of his Maserati in torrential rain and struck a mother-of-two sitting in a roadside lay-by has avoided a prison sentence.
Ronald Dowling, 66, was travelling at 76mph along the A4042 in Pontypool, Gwent, when he hit Sharon Berry, 54, in October 2023.
The father-of-five had overtaken another vehicle in what were described as “terrible” conditions before his £70,000 sports car aquaplaned. The crash also left both of his passengers seriously injured.
Dowling’s Maserati Ghibli skidded across the waterlogged road and smashed into Mrs Berry’s Audi, where she had been waiting for the “biblical downpour” to pass. She died from her injuries three months later.
Dowling’s wife, Kim, a grandmother-of-ten, suffered devastating injuries and now needs a wheelchair. His other passenger, Jane Beedell, was placed in an induced coma after sustaining serious injuries.
At court this week, Dowling admitted responsibility for Mrs Berry’s death but was spared an immediate custodial sentence.
He received a 27-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must complete 250 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for four years and ordered to pay £1,630 in costs.
Passing sentence, Judge Celia Hughes said: “Sharon Berry was simply sitting in her car by the roadside that day. Her death was completely senseless in every aspect of the word.”
Ronald Dowling, 66, avoided prison this week after admitting he killed mother-of-two Sharon Berry in a road crash. He is pictured outside Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
Dowling’s Maserati crashed into Sharon Berry’s Audi as it was parked in a lay-by on the A4042 in Pontypool, Gwent, in October 2023. Mrs Berry is pictured.
The judge added: “No sentence I can pass can bring Mrs Berry back or lessen the pain experienced by her family and friends.”
The court heard that Dowling had been able to buy the Maserati through the success of his business, which installed specialist flooring in shopping centres and stadiums across Britain.
Since the collision, he has become his wife’s full-time carer. Kim Dowling required several operations after suffering a fractured neck and punctured lung.
Dowling had been driving his friend Jane Beedell to a hospital appointment when the crash happened. She suffered numerous injuries, including fractures to her neck and back and a brain haemorrhage.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Prince William ‘Blown Away’ by Young Black Scholars During Charity Visit
In a victim impact statement, Ms Beedell said she now depends on care and was forced to leave her Civil Service career after 48 years because of the lasting effects of her injuries.
Mrs Berry’s family said she had been looking forward to becoming a grandmother when she died and remembered her as someone who was “full of love and laughter”.
Her son Luke said: “There are countless times when I have picked up my phone wanting to call my mum, whether to share good news, ask her advice or simply hear her voice, then the reality hits that she is no longer there and the loss feels as painful as ever.”
Lorraine Ashton, Mrs Berry’s sister, described the mother-of-two’s time in hospital as a period of “hope, fear and uncertainty”.
She said: “We desperately wanted her to recover but she never came home. Memories of those weeks will stay with me forever.
“The pain of losing her is something I carry with me every day. Her death has affected every part of my life. There will always be an empty space, an empty place, where Sharon should be.”
Dowling’s Maserati is pictured at the scene near Pontypool following the collision
Dowling, from Caerphilly, is said to suffer with PTSD, anxiety and sleep problems due to the effects of the crash and is now the carer for his wife.
He admitted causing death by careless driving and two charges of causing serious injury by careless driving at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
David Whittaker, defending, said: ‘His remorse is genuine. He has not suffered in the way the families of Jane Beedell and Sharon Berry’s have but every time he looks at his wife, every day, he is reminded of what he did.’
Ms Hughes, the judge, added: ‘In the seconds before the impact you were speeding at over 70 miles per hour for three seconds before the impact with the parked car.
‘You were doing 50mph at the impact after aquaplaning in standing water on the dual carriageway following several downpours of biblical proportions that day.
‘Your careless driving, speeding in terrible road conditions has had devastating consequences for all the people who have attended court today and no doubt more widely too.
‘The consequences of your behaviour will, and frankly should, live with you forever.’
MUST READ: Cornell University’s Sex Education Pamphlets for Students Draw Backlash