BY JESSICA ROUSE
Truck driver Joel Anthony Costello has been sentenced to serve one year and 10 months in jail after his aggressive driving and failure to heed the warning signs cost cyclist Andrew Ayre his life along Minmi Road in Wallsend in 2013.
Costello has prolonged the case, repeatedly changing legal representatives, clogging the court system since he was charged.
As his initial trial date approached, Costello failed to appear in court and ten days later he was arrested for driving an unregistered truck on a suspended license. He applied for bail twice and on both occasions was refused.
He then pleaded guilty and according to his solicitor Peter Harper, he finally accepted responsibility for causing Andrew Ayre's death.
Costello is eligible for release before Christmas next year.
