Van driver sentenced over fatal Somerset crash
Biker Destiney Rauh died in the collision in February
Last updated 20th Jun 2025
A van driver's been sentenced after he admitted causing a collision in Somerset last year, which led to the death of a motorcyclist.
Alexander Chapman, from Taunton, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and has been handed a 14 month suspended prison sentence, banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to do 150 hours community work.
The court heard Chapman used a layby to turn round at West Lyng on the evening of Sunday 4 February 2024 when he pulled out directly in front of 27 year old biker Destiney Rauh, who swerved to avoid his van, unsuccessfully and hit the ground. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chapman told police at the scene he hadn't seen her and he was later charged.
A victim personal statement from Destiney's grandmother was read out in court: "Destiney was such a big part of our lives as she came to live with us at six weeks old," it said. "Her bedroom is still the same as she left it on that Sunday morning. Her clothes are still in the wardrobe and her work shoes are still at the bottom of the stairs where she left them."
Addressing Chapman, she added: "The last thing she saw on this earth was your white van. I will never forgive you, but one day I will be with her and I will be happy again.
"I know you didn’t go out to kill her, but you did and nothing in this world will change that. You took something very, very precious from us.
"If you had only looked our lives would never have crossed, but instead your life will never be the same as you killed the love of our life.
"I hope what happened to our family never happens to yours as it is hard… You have got to live with this for the rest of your life as have got to live without Destiney."
Sentencing, Judge Shepherd said, "What made this careless was your inadequate checks for a motorcycle that caused the death. The aggregating factor is that the victim was a vulnerable road user.
"It was a momentary lapse in concentration.
"The victims’ statements are heartfelt and devastating."
Dai Nicholas, the investigating officer, said, "Destiney was a young woman on her way to meet up with friends when in the blink of an eye she was faced with a collision she was powerless to avoid.
"We have heard very clearly about the impact her death has had on her family and our thoughts remain fully with them.
"Everyone has a responsibility to be aware of their surroundings at all times while they’re on our roads. Tragically, as we have seen in this case, any failure to do that can have utterly tragic consequences."