Devastated wife of Sway fatal crash victim, Simon Poole, 'relieved' after Deividas Balkauskas admits causing death by careless driving

THE devastated wife of a Sway man killed in a fatal collision has said she is "relieved" the driver pleaded guilty to causing his death by careless driving.

Father-of-three Simon Poole died after an incident involving a BMW X5 nine days before Christmas in 2019 as he crossed the road to the Red Funnel ferry terminal in Southampton.

The driver, Deividas Balkauskas (41), from Eling Road, Totton, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, which he denied and a trial was scheduled to start on Monday.

But when Balkauskas appeared at Southampton Crown Court, he offered a plea to an alternative charge of causing death by careless driving.

That was accepted by the prosecution, and the judge, Nicholas Rowland, granted him bail to reappear for sentencing on 4th February 2022.

Speaking after the hearing, Louise Poole, Simon’s widow, said: "I’m relieved that Mr Balkauskas has finally acknowledged he was at fault and that our family won’t have to go through the ordeal of a full trial.

"We’ll now await the outcome of the sentencing hearing, knowing we’re one step closer to being able move on with our lives."

Matthew Claxson, from law firm Moore Barlow which has been representing the Poole family, added: "This is yet another tragic example of the pain wrought by speeding and careless driving.

"Mr Balkauskas did not set out to kill that day, but his actions are the reason Simon Poole is no longer with his family.

"We must always be vigilant behind the wheel, obey the rules of the road and be on the lookout for pedestrians."

As reported in the A&T, Mr Poole was 47 and lived in Manchester Road. He was marred to Louise, a personal travel consultant, and they had three children.

He was a military veteran having joined the Royal Navy straight from school and completed operational deployments to the Falkland Islands and the Middle East, before working in start-up companies including his own which specialised in Blackberry smartphone services.

At the time of his death, he was chief operating officer of WightFibre, which provides fibre optic broadband, phone and television services to homes and businesses on the Isle of Wight.