Man sentenced after his careless driving caused a collision which killed another motorist

A man has been sentenced after he swerved onto the wrong side of the road and caused a collision which killed another motorist.

Nuno Gouveia, aged 32 and of Chipping Street in Tetbury, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by careless driving.

The court heard how police had been called to the B4070 in Birdlip at around 5.30am on Tuesday 2 July 2024 following a report of a two-vehicle collision.

The collision involved a silver Kia Picanto which was travelling towards Stroud and a grey Nissan Qashqai, which was being driven by Gouveia, and travelling towards the A417.

Emergency services attended and the driver of the Kia, 58-year-old Michael Ramstedt, received emergency first aid but was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation was launched by the Constabulary's Serious Collision Investigation Team and during police interview Gouveia said that he had glanced down at his Sat Nav to check the route that he was travelling before swerving onto the other side of the road.

Phone enquiries found that Gouveia had ended a phone call just minutes before the collision but he denied being at fault and later provided a signed account of what happened.

This account gave differing reasons for the cause of the collision and included a claim that Mr Ramstedt had caused the collision by going on the wrong side of the carriageway.

Despite this, officers established that the collision happened on the Stroud-bound carriageway which meant that Gouveia's car was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the collision. 

Gouveia was later postal charged with one count of causing death by careless driving and pleaded guilty at a later court appearance.

He appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court last Wednesday (19 August) and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended for 24 months, issued with a one year driving ban, fined £272 and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

Police Staff Investigator Hannah Moore from the Serious Collision Investigation Team said: "Being distracted behind the wheel is not only completely unacceptable and reckless, but puts lives at risk as we sadly saw in this case.

"Concentrating on the road is far more important when it comes to keeping you and other road users safe."

Michael's wife Livia provided a victim impact statement which said: "Losing Michael was the hardest thing we experienced. There is no-one and nothing who can ever replace him or the things he did for us all.

"I cannot just delete 28 years of marriage; I lived most of my life with him and having to live without him is incredibly difficult. I lost my soulmate and other half, and nothing can bring him back.

"I still have the video of him leaving for work that morning, I cannot bring myself to delete it as it is the last memory I have. He was the most selfless, loving and affectionate person.

"I believe he did not deserve to die like that. We miss him so much and would do anything to have him back with us."