Tribute to 'kind and caring' farmer killed in head-on Craven crash
A drug-driver has been jailed for four years and eight months
Tributes have been paid to a 'kind and caring' farmer who was killed in a head-on collision with a HGV in Craven.
Richard Sunter, who was 39-years-old, died after a drug-driver drove on the wrong side of the road round a bend on the A65.
The driver of the HGV, 45-year-old John Robertson, of Glasgow, has been jailed for four years and eight months, and banned from driving for five years.
He admitted causing death without due care and attention, while unfit through drugs.
The court heard how on 7th October 2023, a HGV approached a right-hand bend with no clear view and collided with a Ford Ranger pick-up towing an unloaded small livestock trailer.
Richard was driving the Ford Ranger, and died at the scene.
Robertson tested positive for cannabis at the roadside.
A tribute to "a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a farmer, a carer, a dreamer"
Richard's mother said his family's lives changed dramatically when he suddenly died: "In one moment, everything we knew, everything we relied on, everything that made our family whole, was taken from us. Since the knock on the door, we have lived in a world that no longer makes sense.
“Richard was a kind, caring son. He loved a laugh and a joke, just like the rest of us. He was always the first to help - family, extended family, friends, anyone who needed him. He was deeply family orientated.
"He lived at home and supported me, he did so many things around the house that I struggled with. Now, without him, everything feels harder, heavier, and lonelier."
Richard's mother went on to say that even his faithful sheepdog is suffering: "She sits for hours waiting for him to come home. She doesn’t understand why he isn’t walking through the door. We took her to the family farm where Richard spent so much time, and she ran around looking for him, desperate to find him.
“Richard was the rock of our family. He was a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a farmer, a carer, a dreamer, and the heart of our home. His death has shattered us. It has changed every part of our lives. There is no part of our day that is untouched by his absence."