A Keighley pensioner has been jailed for causing a horrific head-on smash in which a motorcyclist lost a leg.
A judge said it was a miracle Jean Kelly, 44, survived the accident, on the A65 near Hellifield, on September 12 last year.
She was airlifted to hospital with a severed femoral artery and injuries that led to her left leg being amputated at the knee.
David Wilson, 69, of Malsis Road, was jailed for nine months and banned from driving for six years at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
Prosecutor Stephanie Hancock said Wilson did not see Miss Kelly and her partner, Graham Hill, as they rode their Harley-Davidson motorbikes towards Skipton.
He was driving his disabled wife in a specially adapted minibus when he went to overtake a heavy goods vehicle.
Miss Kelly was in front of Mr Hill when she saw Wilson’s vehicle in the road ahead of her.
The Halifax couple were in radio contact and Miss Kelly said: “Graham, help me”, just before the impact.
She braked but could not get out of the way of the minibus. They collided head-on and the minibus went on to clip Mr Hill’s bike, knocking him off. Miss Kelly suffered life-threatening injuries and attended court in a wheelchair.
Wilson told officers he caught his sleeve on the gear lever.
In a statement read to the court, Miss Kelly, who was a keen motorcyclist, said every aspect of her life had been ruined.
Wilson’s barrister, David James, said he did not see the bikes when he went to overtake the lorry. “He is a frightened man and well aware of the jeopardy he faces today,” said Mr James.
Wilson was sole carer for his wife, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, and she
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