Healthcare worker jailed after death near National Trust site

Thirty-eight-year-old Ayan Kolah, of Lowden in Chippenham, first appeared at Swindon Crown Court on February 18 and pleaded not guilty to causing death whilst driving without due care and attention.

The plea came after the death of sixty-four-year-old cyclist Robert Jones, who was killed in a crash on the A350 at Lacock on the morning of January 20.

Ms Kolah also denied failing to provide a specimen for analysis following the crash, and a trial date was set for early January 2027.

However, reappearing at Swindon Crown Court seven months after her initial plea, the Chippenham woman changed her plea and admitted to causing Mr Jones' death.

She has now been jailed for five years and seven months, and banned from driving for seven years and 11 months.

Ayan Kolah has been jailed for causing death by due care and failing to provide (Image: Wiltshire Police)

It's a sentence which Judge Townsend said could never be enough to reflect the tragic death of an innocent man.

The crash which killed Robert Jones took place just before 5am on the morning of Thursday. January 20, and the A350 was closed for several hours while police carried out an investigation at the scene.

Kolah was driving a Vauxhall when she struck Mr Jones, who was riding his bicycle.

The court heard that the cyclist was wearing a hi-vis jacket at the time of the crash, had lights on his bike, and several other drivers had been able to see him and pass safely prior to the crash.

"The collision was highly avoidable," the prosecutor told the court.

"She provided a breath test that was almost four times the legal limit, and a positive test for cannabis.

"One of the first officers on the scene said the collision provoked one of the strangest reactions he had ever seen in a defendant.

"She fell to the ground, rolled into a ditch and cried leave me here."

Kolah's defence lawyer disputed this fact, claiming she fell into the ditch by accident.

After being taken to the police station, Kolah then refused to provide a blood sample.

"An officer who examined her vehicle said he found an open bottle that smelt of alcohol. He also found cannabis and a Smirnoff Vodka bottle in the front passenger door pocket," added the prosecutor.

Defence lawyer Ms Bailey said: "She has no previous driving convictions and she made efforts to assist Mr Jones at the roadside in the immediate aftermath by trying to give him CPR.

"She was popping out to the shops to collect some sanitary products.

"She is ashamed of her actions and understands it has had a devastating and unchangeable impact on his family.

"She feels guilty and shame every day and that will haunt her for the rest of her life."

Robert Jones' daughter and parents were present in court.

Judge Townsend said: "This was an appalling and awful road traffic collision due to the defendant's decision to drive a car when she was wholly unfit to drive.

"The consequence is that an entirely innocent man cycling on the road lost his life.

"As a result of this, Mr Jones has lost the chance of seeing all the things he might have seen in the course of the rest of his natural life.

"His family has to live with that loss.

"The reality of course is that no sentence can reflect that loss of a life."