A DRINK driver has been told he will be jailed after being convicted of killing a teenager through careless driving.

Jonathan Ashworth was over the drink-drive limit when the borrowed Range Rover he was driving hit 18-year-old Tom Kahl on July 10 last year.

He denied causing death by careless driving while over the alcohol limit, but was unanimously found guilty by jurors at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Christopher Compston granted him bail ahead of sentencing on October 19, but said: “Rest assured, there is no question it will be prison.”

He added: “I make it quite clear that I entirely agree with the jury’s verdict.”

Mr Kahl had been cycling with mates to a friend’s house in Woodstock at about midnight when the crash happened on the unlit A4260 near Thrupp.

The trial heard the group had been drinking but did not consider themselves to be drunk.

Mr Kahl, a keen Oxford United fan from Kidlington, had no lights on his bike and was listening to his iPod when he crossed the road.

Ashworth, of Shipton-on-Cherwell, told the trial he had drunk no more than two-and-a-half glasses of wine that evening and had snorted a line of cocaine 24 hours earlier.

The 55-year-old car dealer said he did not see Mr Kahl until after the impact. He had 112 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of urine. The legal limit is 107 milligrams.

After the verdict, Mr Kahl’s parents Graham and Jacqui said: “No parent ever expects that they will have to deal with the death of their child, it is an event that is totally contrary to the natural order we expect life to follow.

“Tom’s death has had a profound affect on the whole family.

“The feeling of immense grief and emptiness will last a lifetime.

“Tom had a unique character and charm about him. We would like to thank everyone for all their continued support and kindness”

Sgt Pete Jell, of Bicester Roads Policing, said: “What this case has been about all along is the standard of driving of Mr Ashworth.

“We never tried to pretend that Tom was blameless but he was there to be seen and if Mr Ashworth had been paying full attention to his driving and hadn’t been over the limit this tragedy may never have happened.”