Parents of man, 21, killed by overtaking driver say they hope death 'haunts' her
The parents of a young motorcyclist mowed down dead by a driver said they hope his death "haunts" the killer.
Jordan Talbot's mother said the killer would "never understand the pain, emptiness and loneliness" she has caused. He was just five days into his 21st year when he was killed by Mandy Pope, 55, on the A4226 in Barry, Wales, on November 23, 2021. The collision took place as both were travelling to work, with Pope hitting Jordan head-on after pulling into the oncoming lane to overtake an HGV vehicle.
In heart-rending statements read to the court by Mr Orndal, Jordan's parents described the unimaginable pain and grief they have experienced as a result of their son's death. In mitigation, Carl Templar-Vasey said there was no intention on his part of attempting to minimise the tragedy of Jordan's death upon his family in anything said on behalf of his client.
He said Pope was of previous good character and played an important role in helping to support and care for her elderly parents, as well as her son and daughter, who has mental health issues. He said the defendant had been diagnosed with PTSD and took six months off work to process what had happened. The barrister said Pope "could not imagine" the impact Mr Talbot's death had had upon his family, and had written to them to express her deep remorse and regret about the collision.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Jordan suffered "catastrophic injuries" having been thrown from his Honda CB500F into the air and landing on the carriageway. He was later declared dead having never regained consciousness. Jordan, described by those who knew him as a "bright and promising young man" was travelling to work at Aston Martin, while Pope was also travelling to work at Barry Screwfix in her white Vauxhall Astra.
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In clips played to the court from Pope's dash cam, she was heard to be "frustrated and impatient" about being stuck at red traffic lights. She could be heard saying "For Christ's sake" and "waiting for invisible cars to pass". She was stuck behind an HGV vehicle which was constrained to 50mph, with the speed limit on the road being 60mph. She was witnessed by the HGV driver and a taxi driver pulling into the oncoming lane to overtake the HGV vehicle. But she failed to notice the headlight of the motorcycle, which was described by others as "bright and clear", travelling towards her.
Mandy Pope, 55, killed mortorcylist Jordan Talbot, 21, in a head on collision on the A426 in Barry (South Wales Police)Horrific footage of the collision was played to the court by prosecutor Amex Orndal in which she could be seen pulling out into the opposing carriageway, then hitting the bike with Jordan thrown into the air before landing on the carriageway.
Attempts were made to resuscitate Jordan by passers-by and paramedics who later attended but he was declared dead at 6.21am. The defendant stopped at the scene and was spoken to by police. She said she did not see the motorbike coming towards her until a second before the collision and had tried to swerve but there was "no chance" of avoiding the motorbike.
A forensic collision report concluded the road was unlit and dark at the time of the collision and the Honda motorbike would have been visible for six seconds before the collision. Pope later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. The court heard she was of previous good character and had a clean driving licence at the time of the collision. The judge added: "Your manoeuvre that day could only have saved a very short amount of time on your journey to work and your impatience cost Jordan Talbot his life.
Pope was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment. She was also disqualified from driving for five years and eight months.
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