DRUG AND DRINK DRIVER JAILED SEVEN YEARS FOR KILLING CYCLIST

Teddy Picton was sentenced to seven years in a young offenders' institution after driving head-on into cyclist Brad Craven on 17 May 2025 in Grangetown, Cardiff. Picton, aged 20, had cocaine and alcohol in his blood at the time of the collision. He was driving a blue Fiat 500 on the wrong side of the road and made no attempt to brake, according to evidence presented to Cardiff Crown Court. Picton had failed his driving test weeks before the crash and was driving without a licence or insurance.

Craven, a 72-year-old retired social worker from Cardiff, was cycling in a fluorescent orange high-visibility jacket on a regular ride with his brother when he was struck. He sustained a fractured skull and died five weeks later at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales whilst in a coma. His brother Phillip found him on the pavement "gasping and choking on his own blood" after the collision. Judge Paul Hobson stated that Picton knew "he should not have been driving" and that he had been drinking and taking cocaine the night before, describing it as "part of the work culture". Picton claimed to police that his female passenger, who owned the vehicle, was too intoxicated to drive.

Picton admitted causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing. Judge Hobson said he will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before release on licence, though noted that recent legal changes could reduce this to half. Victim impact statements from Craven's family were read to the court, with his brother's statement recalling Picton's "no compassion, empathy, responsibility or remorse". Picton's family attended the sentencing hearing to support him.