COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Several ambulance resources were sent to the scene on Binley Road



A man has suffered serious injuries following a collision with a car in Coventry last night.

The pedestrian, believed to be in his 50s or 60s, was hit outside the vets on Binley Road shortly after 7pm.

One ambulance and the air ambulance critical care car were in attendance.

The man was given advanced trauma care before being taken to University Hospital on blue lights.

Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

Pedestrian hit by car in Coventry dies in hospital



A man hit by a car in Coventry on Sunday night has died in hospital, police have said.

Kerry Wester, 58, died with his family by his side after a collision involving a Vauxhall Insignia in Binley Road, near to the junction of Raleigh Road.

Mr Wester was taken to the city's University Hospital with life-threatening injuries following the crash at just after 7.15pm on Sunday.

A member of Mr Wester’s family has paid a heart-warming tribute to him, saying: “Kerry was my cousin, a single man who lived independently, but who would visit regularly.

"He would either walk or cycle into Coventry city centre along Binley Road, pretty much on a daily basis.

“Kerry had a passion for building model figures and painting them and he was well-known at the Games Workshop store in Coventry.

"He watched all of our children grow up and he was an integral part of our family. It’s such a shock this has happened.

“Our last conversation was about the darker nights and how he wasn’t going to ride his bicycle any more as he didn’t think it was safe.

"This is so tragic and it has impacted us all. He will be sadly missed.”

Police said a 29-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drugs in connection with the incident.

He has since been released pending further enquiries.

Speeding driver was on cocaine and cannabis when he killed Coventry man



A man urged to stop cycling by his family and to take the bus as it would be safer was killed by a speeding driver as he crossed the road after getting off a bus.

Kerry Wester was crossing Binley Road in Coventry when he was hit by Bradley Costello's car which was doing over 50mph in a 30mph zone just moments before the fatal collision.

Costello was found to have cocaine and cannabis in his system and also had two children in his car when it struck Mr Wester.

A judge said that Costello showed "breathtaking arrogance and utter contempt for the rules of the road" and jailed him for four years and ten months after the 32-year-old finally pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when the quantities of cannabis and a cocaine derivative were over the legal limits.

He had initially denied the charge and held that stance for over two years before eventually changing his plea.

Costello, of Coombe Avenue, Binley, was also banned from driving for seven years and five months.

Jailing Costello, Recorder Jacob Hallam told him: “Even though you were driving with children in the car, you had consumed both cannabis and cocaine in the hours before you drove.

“Mr Wester had got off a bus on his way home. He had been encouraged to travel by that mode of transport for safety reasons.

“He had been using his bicycle, but as the nights were drawing in it was felt by those who cared for him that a bus was the safer way to get around.

“The speed limit in Binley Road is 30mph, but you, with children in your car and cocaine and cannabis in your system, were driving at 53mph. You braked when you saw Mr Wester and struck him at 44mph - 14mph over the speed limit.

“You showed breathtaking arrogance and utter contempt for the rules of the road. Your vehicle struck him with a truly terrible force, throwing him in the air and over your vehicle. He stood no chance at all of surviving the collision.

“You pleaded not guilty in August 2019, and that remained the position for the rest of 2019 and the whole of 2020. For over two years Kerry Wester’s family and friends have been in a state of emotional limbo waiting for this to be resolved."