A lorry driver jailed after crushing a cyclist to death has today failed to get his jail sentence quashed. Barry Meyer, 54, killed music industry executive Alan Neve who was cycling to work in the West End from his east London home at Poplar.

East London Advertiser: Driver Barry Meyer (inset) and scene in Holborn where cyclist Alan Neve diedDriver Barry Meyer (inset) and scene in Holborn where cyclist Alan Neve died (Image: Archant)

Meyer was at the wheel of a tipper truck he wasn’t qualified to drive when he hit Mr Neve, dragging him under, in the crash in High Holborn in July 2013, the Appeal Court heard.

Meyer, from Walthamstow, had pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court last April to causing death by careless driving and was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

“He didn’t pay any attention to other people on the road, in particular the cyclist,” Appeal Judge William Davis said today. “It’s clear Mr Neve was in full view of Meyer and drove straight over him.”

The accident was “a bad case of careless driving that caused death” with aggravating features that were significant, the Appeal judge added.

Meyer had numerous previous driving offences and was not qualified to drive the type of tipper truck he was in, the court was told. The jail sentence was upheld.

[Images: Evo Lucas]