A Leicestershire man who was jailed for killing a motorcyclist in a horrific crash has been freed from prison by appeal judges.
The motorcyclist, 47-year-old father-of-two Philip Arnold, died when he was knocked from his motorbike on the A60, in Costock, near Nottingham, in November last year.
In October, the driver who caused the crash, Sukhminder Dhuck, 46, was jailed for six months for causing death by careless driving.
But this week, after an appeal by his lawyers, three senior judges slashed Dhuck's sentence to allow him to go free immediately.
Mr Justice Lewis said Dhuck, of The Arches, East Leake, Loughborough, should not have been sent to prison for the offence.
The Court of Appeal heard that Dhuck had failed to leave enough time to check whether it was safe to cross the A60 on the morning of November 7.
Mr Arnold, an advanced driving instructor, was travelling south and had no time to avoid a collision with Dhuck's car.
He was wearing high-visibility clothing and was travelling at an appropriate speed when the crash happened.
Dhuck pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court and was jailed at the end of October.
"If Dhuck had not been driving carelessly, he would have seen him and this terrible accident would have been avoided," said the judge.
But on Wednesday, his lawyers argued before Mr Justice Lewis, Mr Justice Openshaw and Lord Justice Laws that the sentence was too tough.
Giving judgment, Mr Justice Lewis said a community sentence would have been appropriate. He cut Dhuck's prison term to three months to allow immediate release.
"There's no doubting the tragic nature of this case," Mr Justice Lewis said in his ruling. "Nothing we say is intended to minimise the fact that Mr Arnold died as a result of this accident.
"The impact on his family, in particular his wife and two daughters, was devastating.
"What happened here was more serious than momentary inattention. However, we accept the submission that the driving could not be said to be driving falling not far short of dangerous.
"An immediate custodial sentence wasn't justified in those circumstances, particularly given his personal mitigation."
As Dhuck only has to serve half of his now three-month sentence in prison before release on licence, the decision meant he was entitled to be freed immediately.
He was not present at the Court of Appeal.
