Motorcyclist doing 60mph on a 30mph road is jailed after mowing down and killing French holidaymaker in front of her two teenage sons

• Motorcyclist was jailed after killing Frenchwoman on street in Borough, London
• Jack Gough, 28, was sentenced to 32 months for hitting tourist Muriel Sanna
• Gough travelled at 60mph in 30mph zone when he hit Sanna in front of her sons

A speeding motorcyclist who mowed down and killed a French tourist in front of her two teenage sons has been jailed for 32 months.

Jack Gough, 28, from Welling, south-east London, was riding home when he struck 45-year-old Muriel Sanna in Great Dover Street, in Borough, south London, on the evening of July 23 2018 while travelling at 60mph on a 30mph road.

Ms Sanna, from Nice in France, had been crossing the road to look at a street map when she was hit by Gough's Suzuki in front of her sons, aged 16 and 18.

She was carried up to 35 metres down the road by the bike before colliding with a parked car. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Before the crash, Gough had been doing around 60mph - twice the then 30mph speed limit - followed by a Harley-Davidson rider, who has never been traced.

The defendant, who lives with his parents, admitted causing death by dangerous driving but denied that he had been racing with the Harley-Davidson.

The Old Bailey heard Gough was returning home from work on his 650cc Suzuki, having left the office half an hour late at 6.30pm. 

The son of a retired teacher father and clinical psychologist mother told the Old Bailey: 'I was simply on my way home. I truly had no idea that Harley was there until I was questioned.'

He became emotional as he recalled the crash, saying: 'I braked, I tried to honk and I tried to swerve but it was simply too late. I could not stop in time.'

'I remember standing up after the accident and collapsing. I would have helped if I could. I remember asking if she was OK.'

Gough, who fractured his collarbone and injured his knee, was said by his father to have reacted with 'terrible anguish and uncontrollable sobbing' when he heard in hospital that Ms Sanna had died.

The defendant said he had been unable to watch footage of the accident and had not ridden a motorbike since.

Sentencing, Judge Richard Marks QC said the trauma suffered by Ms Sanna's sons and her friends from witnessing the crash was 'simply unimaginable'.

On why Gough had been speeding, he told him: 'It seems to me you had likely decided, perhaps because you were late, that you were going to put your foot down.'

While there remained a 'significant suspicion' that Gough had been driving competitively with the Harley-Davidson, the judge said he could not be sure that was the case.

Judge Marks took account of Gough's 'impeccable character' and genuine remorse, as well as the impact on his mental health, when setting the prison term.

He added: 'Nothing I can say or do is capable of bringing Muriel Sanna back or undo the terrible pain and hurt caused by you to her family.

'Moreover, any sentence I impose is likely to be regarded by her family as wholly inadequate - and perhaps by your family as being excessive.'

The defendant, who was supported at the Old Bailey by his family, appeared tearful as he was sent down.

In addition to his jail term Judge Marks banned Gough from the road for five years.