An inexperienced driver who accidentally killed a cyclist on his morning ride north of Perth after being momentarily blinded by the sun has dodged an immediate jail term.
Alistair “Sid” Mclean was riding his bicycle on Lancelin Road, near the intersection of Old Ledge Point, when he was hit by Thanh Vy Nguyen’s Honda hatchback on January 5.
The 51-year-old father was flown to Royal Perth Hospital but could not be saved.
Nguyen, 30, was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death, which was later downgraded to careless driving causing death.
He was sentenced on Monday, with Perth Magistrates Court told he did not see Mr Mclean and had pulled to the left to make sure he didn’t collide with a vehicle travelling in the other direction while his vision was obscured.
A surgeon and dentist in Vietnam, he had only held his driver’s licence for 13 months and had arrived in WA just five weeks earlier.
“This was the actions of a panicked and inexperienced driver,” defence counsel Hamish Glenister said.
The court was told Nguyen had stopped to render assistance and fully cooperated with police.
Magistrate Lynette Dias said his momentary inattention and misjudgement had had huge consequences, offering condolences to Mr Maclean’s loved ones.
She accepted Nguyen was remorseful and sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 10 months.
Ms Dias also disqualified his licence for 12 months.
In a heartbreaking obituary published in The West Australian, Mr Mclean’s wife and children paid tribute to the man described as “one of the best”.
“He was a loving, adventurous, kind, generous and fun-loving bloke to all that knew him and met him. He had an impact on so many, being so involved with each community he lived in,” they wrote.
“We were so blessed to have you as a wonderful husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew and friend and are forever grateful for all the adventures and laughs we shared.
“You will be forever in our hearts … you will live on in your boys. We will cherish memories of you forever.”
Mr Mclean was a long-term employee of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and worked in Lancelin.
On social media, a community page said the town was reeling from the loss of the well-known local.
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