Daughter's plea to drink drivers after father’s death in Crawley

Nicholas Bailey died after being hit by a driver who knocked back several glasses of wine at a barbecue before jumping behind the wheel.

Kevin Pratt pleaded guilty to drink driving and causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

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Following the sentencing, Nicholas’ daughter Nicola Bailey pleading with motorists not to drink or drug drive after the “complete and utter devastation” caused for her family.

“By the time I got to him at the crash site he was gone,” she said. “The images from that evening will stay with me forever.

“Mine and my family’s lives have been smashed apart. The pain and grief of losing my dad in such an horrific manner is both unbearable and indescribable. It is complete and utter devastation.

“If I had one message for someone thinking of driving who has consumed alcohol or drugs, it would be stop. You have a choice.”

Nicholas Bailey

Nicola said her father’s life was “stolen from him”.

Pratt stopped drinking just 20 minutes before driving home on June 25 last year.

During the journey he hit the 74-year-old, who was riding his motorcycle in Turners Hill Road, Crawley Down.

Mr Bailey, who was clearly visible on his bike, "had no time to react" and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nicola added: “The wonderful man riding home on his motorbike, back to his daughter and granddaughter, never got home.

“That was not his choice. I waited and waited for him, but I never got to see him alive again. I never had the chance to say goodbye and tell him that I loved him so very, very much.

“The man that killed him, he had a choice. He chose to drive after he had been drinking. Every action carries consequences, and the consequences of his actions were fatal.”

Pratt, of Spring Plat, Crawley, blew 43 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – eight micrograms above the legal limit.

Kevin Pratt

Mr Bailey's distraught daughter is now pleading with the public not to get behind the wheel intoxicated.

“Could you live with yourself knowing that you had killed someone and shattered so many other lives alongside? You have a choice,” she said.

“I am lucky to have so many wonderful memories to hold onto, and so amazingly grateful to have had the memorable Nick Bailey as my Dad.

“He was utterly unique, a huge character and I was truly blessed, but he should still be here, by my side. His huge presence will forever be felt by myself and many others.”

Officers in Sussex have already made 152 arrests as part of a campaign to stop drink-driving, which runs from December 1 to January 1.

The arrests includes a driver who was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving twice in four days, a suspected drink-driver who crashed into three parked vehicles and a suspected drug-driver who ignored and drove through a police road closure while officers dealt with a serious incident.