A LORRY driver who killed a cyclist by pulling out into his path and hitting him has been jailed for two years and banned from driving for three years.

Mervyn John White, 64, did not stop as he moved onto the A19 roundabout near the M62 even though Jules Barlow, 49, who was already on the roundabout and was clearly visible in a bright red cycling top, had right of way and was riding correctly, said Richard Walters, prosecuting.

Surgeons carried out a five-hour emergency operation to try to save Mr Barlow’s life after he was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary, but he died later the same day.

In a police interview, White said he had been taught to keep the lorry moving whenever possible at roundabouts to save fuel.

He tried to blame the cyclist for the collision claiming he should have let the lorry through, and said “it takes two to tango”. The Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC, said it was a “deeply unpleasant” phrase.

York Press:

After seeing footage from White’s lorry’s dashcam of the incident, he said: “How it is and why it is you didn’t see Mr Barlow on that roundabout with right of way, no-one will ever know.” It was not a “momentary lapse”.

For nearly two years, White, of Orion Way, Grimsby, denied the charge of causing death by careless driving on the A19 near the M62 Junction 34 near Goole on September 27, 2014 before changing his plea the day before his trial. “She (Mr Barlow’s widow Wendy) has been through hell in consequence,” said the judge.

Defence barrister Andrew Semple said White now fully accepted that Mr Barlow was blameless and was remorseful for his actions. He had been a HGV driver for 40 years.

Mrs Barlow told York Crown Court: “I am still truly devastated. I feel empty, I have lost all sense of purpose"

Mr Barlow had been very safety conscious, always checking his bike before setting off, including on the day he died, and had not taken risks, she said.

Mr Walters said Mr Barlow had taken up cycling to lose weight and after losing 11 stone in eight months, had continued because he liked it so much.

Outside court, acting sergeant Zoe Billings of North Yorkshire Police said of the policy of keeping a lorry moving to save fuel, that drivers should only go onto a roundabout when it was safe and stop if it wasn’t.