Lorry driver admits death by careless driving after mother pushing pram is killed by crane equipment hanging off trailer

A truck driver has admitted he died due to careless driving after a mother pushing her toddler in a stroller was killed by crane equipment hanging from the truck trailer.

Rebecca Ableman, 30, was shot in the head while out with two-year-old Autumn in the Cambridgeshire village of Willingham in September 2022.

At a trial that was stopped last year due to insufficient time for witnesses, the jury was told that 70-year-old Kevin Miller was driving with equipment that was not properly secured, which “clearly had the potential to be lethal”.

Miller was expected to be retried today on the charge of causing death by dangerous driving, but the prosecution accepted the alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.

The gray-haired defendant, wearing a dark green jacket and an open-collared shirt and following the hearing with headphones, stood as the new charge was laid against him.

He showed no emotion as he answered: ‘Guilty.’

Prosecutor William Carter told Peterborough Crown Court: ‘This defense was raised as a possibility yesterday.

‘We discussed this of course with the police, with the experts who were required to give evidence and of course with Ms Ableman’s family.

‘I had a meeting with the CPS this morning. After much consideration with everyone, it was decided that this defense was acceptable.’

Mr Carter said the lesser charge was related to ‘the vehicle being driven with a jib and therefore the grip being inadequately secured’.

Judge Matthew Lowe said the defendant’s sentence was adjourned until April 14 pending a report by the Probation Service and released him on unconditional bail.

But he warned him against a prison sentence, saying: ‘The detention threshold has been reached in this case.’

Ms Ableman’s family, including her parents Russell and Sue, her 37-year-old product marketing manager partner Chris Tuczemskyi, her two sisters and her best friend, sat silently in court throughout the hearing.

Asked if they wanted to say anything, Mr Ableman said: ‘No at this stage.’

Miller quickly left the courtroom after the hearing. His lawyer stated that he would not comment and added: ‘He is a man of few words.’

During the trial, which was canceled in April last year, jurors were told that on September 22, 2022, the defendant transported scrap metal from King’s Lynn docks in Norfolk to two Network Rail depots in Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Truck driver Kevin Miller, 70, told police he was unaware of the incident until they stopped him more than two hours later. Admitted to causing death due to careless driving

While passing through Willingham on the B1050, the loose crane equipment slipped out of place and hung over the edge of the trailer, hanging in front of a footpath.

Mrs Ableman was killed when she was struck by heavy equipment at around 11.15am as she had just left a farm shop with her daughter.

The court heard the NHS paramedic suffered ‘very serious head and brain injuries’.

He died three weeks later on 16 October in the neurointensive care unit of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Thomas Butler, who was driving along the road at the time of the collision, told the court he noticed the unsecured equipment.

‘[I] “I thought it looked terrible and told my wife everything didn’t look right,” he said.

He then noticed a woman lying on the road and ‘people running everywhere’, with cars stopping nearby.

Miller, of King’s Lynn, was not arrested until 1.45pm and told police he was unaware of the incident.

Ms Ableman is seen with her daughter Autumn and her father Chris Tuczemskyi, 37

Mr Carter told the court he said he would have stopped if he had known about it and officers heard him say: ‘What happened, mate? ‘I didn’t hit anyone.’

Paying tribute to Ms Ableman shortly after her death, Mr Tuczemskyi said: ‘She was my light on the darkest nights, my rock when I stumbled and my best friend.

‘He made me a better person, he pushed me to be better and do better because he could see my potential when I couldn’t.’

Mr Tuczemskyi started a fundraising page on GoFundMe in memory of his partner, who worked at a mental health hospital in Cambridge, with funds going to the East Anglian Air Ambulance and Addenbrooke’s Neuro Intensive Care Unit.

She was also raising money for Autumn to explore the world and to create a memorial bench for her late mother.

He spent his first day at Willingham Elementary School in September 2024.

The maximum penalty for causing death by reckless driving is five years’ imprisonment.

Life imprisonment can be imposed for the crime of causing death by dangerous driving. This is removed from the 14-year maximum for offenses committed on or after 28 June 2022.