Comins, 52, was nine minutes into a cycling time trial on the A40 near Raglan, Monmouthshire, when Barbu tried to overtake.
He said he had seen her, but did not know why he hit her, claiming he would ask himself the question for his “whole life”.
When his van was examined following the crash it was found to be unfit for the road and its load overweight which would have increased the emergency breaking distances and ability to turn the wheel, according to a vehicle examiner.
Barbu moved to Britain in 2002 to become a pub chef at Old Pandy public house and eventually owned the pub. Barbu married a Romanian woman, Maria, in 2004 and had twins, who are now adults.
He filed an appeal to stop him from being deported, and said it would be “unduly harsh for both him and his family to relocate permanently to Romania, where he said he has no home or source of income.
He said he identified closely with British culture and traditions and regarded the UK as his permanent home.
His wife Maria said she would not relocate to Romania, and would be unable to cope without her husband.
On 7 September, Boyes said as Barbu’s children were adults and do not depend on him, it would not be “unduly harsh” to remove him.
He said “the very significant public interest in deportation outweighs the appellant’s private and family life considerations.”