British soldier new to driving in Germany kills teenage motorcyclist
Pte Lewis Gillbanks-Norton, 23, had only been driving in Europe for nine days on a military exercise when he crashed into Leonie Ullrich, 17, a court martial was told.
He had stopped in a left filter lane and was aware of the approaching motorcyclist but thought he had enough time to make a turn and cross her path before she reached him.
The court heard that it was one of the first times that Gillbanks-Norton was driving without a convoy of colleagues, although he had passed the service familiarisation test for driving on the right.
At the time of the collision he had recently arrived in Germany to support an exercise by officer cadets from the prestigious Royal Military School Sandhurst.
The soldier, serving in the 4th Regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps, pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to a year in service detention.
Sentencing, Assistant Judge Advocate Gen John Atwill told Gillbanks-Norton he had a 'greater responsibility' to protect other road users given the size of his vehicle.
He said: 'All drivers have a responsibility to protect the safety of other road users and to consider any action that puts other road users at risk.
'It was your responsibility to make the turn carefully.
'In driving a large vehicle, which may be slow to respond, there is still greater responsibility.'
Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, heard that the soldier, then aged 22, was driving a six-tonne MAN SV truck with his passenger Pte Robert Jadaa from Hahnbach to Gebenbach, in Bavaria, on July 11, 2024, when the crash occurred.
Lt Col Felicity Bryson, prosecuting, said: 'He saw a motorbike on the horizon, he was aware the speed limit was 100 kilometres per hour [60 miles per hour].
'Pte Gillbanks-Norton began to turn left ... he thought he had enough time to turn left, the next time he saw the bike it was five metres away.'
Ullrich, from Neukirchen, was on her way home from visiting friends and tried to swerve her 125cc bike around Gillbanks-Norton's truck.
However, she was struck by the left side of the vehicle and became trapped underneath it. Gillbanks-Norton and Jadaa got out to assist Leonie but her injuries were fatal.
'Tragic news'
He had no previous convictions and a good driving record prior to the incident. Following the collision he was breathalysed, which showed there was no alcohol in his system at the time.
Ullrich's mother said in a victim impact statement: 'This tragic news has plunged us into a deep abyss and broken us, it is hard to find words to describe how we have felt since then.'
Bob Scott, mitigating, said: 'From the outset [Gillbanks-Norton] has taken full responsibility.'
In a letter Gillbanks-Norton expressed his 'deepest and sincerest' remorse to Ullrich's family.
He has been sentenced to 12 months of service detention and a 12-month driving ban.
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