Suspended sentence for HGV driver over teen's death

A lorry driver who killed a teenage motorcyclist at a roundabout has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Zebedee Watson, 17, from north Dorset, was waiting to enter Safety Drive Roundabout in Poole on 28 November 2025 when he was run over from behind, Weymouth Magistrates' Court heard.

Paul Graham, 56, from Stoborough, previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

District Judge Orla Austin imposed a six-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, together with 100 hours of unpaid work.

She told Graham: "It was a serious failure of observation... towards a stationary and vulnerable road user," and asked him whether he had anything to say.

The defendant, who kept his head bowed for most of the hearing, replied that he was "distraught for the family".

The DAF truck's dashcam video, which was shown in court, recorded the lorry approaching the A350/A3049 Holes Bay North roundabout, near Safety Drive, from the south.

After standing still for about eight seconds, the lorry accelerated and came to a sudden halt.

The teenager, known to loved ones as Zeb, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His father, Shane Watson, described the "trauma" of listening to "silence and muffled voices" on Zeb's phone, which was connected following the crash.

In a victim statement, he told the court: "Every single Friday, I feel like I relive the trauma hour by hour."

He said more than 250 people attended his son's funeral.

The teenager's mother, Alison Jones, said her son "was still a child with his whole future ahead of him".

She told the court: "I will never hold his babies in my arms, never see the great man he would have become."

On the day after the teenager's death, an online petition was started to install traffic lights at the roundabout.

More than 3,500 people signed the document, which said the junction was a "notorious hotspot for tragic collisions, resulting in numerous fatalities in recent times".

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said it had not received the petition.

Councillor Richard Herrett said: "The council supported the police investigation into this fatal collision and will carefully consider any findings or recommendations arising from the coroner's report."