Widower of Bedford woman killed by bus on pedestrian crossing speaks out after driver sentenced

The widower of a Bedford woman killed by a bus driver has spoken of his heartbreak at losing his “best friend and soul mate.”

Shama Kalyan, aged 54 at the time, was on her way to her Cosmic Avenue home when she was knocked down by a bus at 19mph on a light controlled pedestrian crossing at Ampthill Road in Bedford in December 2017.

She suffered catastrophic injuries and died in hospital a month later, having never regained consciousness.

At a hearing earlier this year, the driver of the bus, Paul Udris, employed by Cambus Limited, changed his plea to guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

And yesterday (Thursday) at Luton Crown Court, Udris - Harewood Road, Bedford - he was sentenced to a 15-month jail term with half to be served in custody and the other half on licence. The 62-year-old also banned from driving for 10 years following his prison term, and will have to undergo an extended retest.

The court was told how Udris had failed to react to the traffic signal change in time.

At the time of her death, Shama and Mohan had been married for 35 years with three children – Ajay, 35, Anu, 31, and Harish, 29.

Husband Mohan said: “My whole life was shattered when I lost Shama, and nothing has been the same since then.

“Three years on, I still struggle with thoughts of what happened that day and I feel so empty when I think about Shama not being here anymore; she was my whole life. I’m so lucky to have my children as they are the reason I keep going. However they have also suffered badly.

“As we live so close to where Shama was hit, we are regularly reminded of how she was tragically taken from us, and I can’t put into words how much we miss her every single day.

"I haven’t just lost my wife, I have lost my best friend and soul mate, and our children are without their loving mum who would support and care for them through everything."

Following the sentencing hearing, Mohan added: “While I am grateful that the prosecution is over and the person responsible has been sentenced, it doesn’t bring Shama back, and it hurts to know that to take a life results in a sentence of only 15 months.

“The past three years have been incredibly hard with the uncertainty of the prosecution hanging over us. I am so grateful for everything that the police have done to investigate the case, but it has been hard to wait so long for an outcome and the last few months have just made things worse.

“All I can do now is continue to be there for our children and hope that our experience will be a stark warning to others to stay safe on the roads. I wouldn’t wish any other family to go through the pain we have.”