An elderly driver who killed his wife after carrying out an illegal U-turn on a busy A road has been sentenced.
Thomas Nibbs, now 88, was driving his Kia Ceed southbound on the A56 Accrington by-pass when his sat nav told him to turn around.
Nibbs conducted an unlawful U-turn at the junction with Sandy Lane and collided with a Volkswagen Golf going north.
The front seat passenger of the Kia, Nibb’s wife Roseanne, 67, was seriously injured and sadly died in hospital later the same day.
The Golf driver and passenger thankfully only suffered minor injuries.
The collision happened on Saturday, June 3rd 2023.
Today (Wednesday 5th March 2025) following an earlier guilty plea to causing death by careless driving, Thomas Nibbs, of Glenwood Avenue, Shipley, West Yorkshire, was sentenced to 8-month imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from driving for the remainder of his life.
Insp Helen Parkinson, of the Road Policing Unit, said: “Although I appreciate no sentence will compensate the loss of a loved family member, I hope this outcome brings some form of closure for Roseanne’s wider family and my thoughts very much remain with them today.”
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