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Driver who killed cyclist while racing at 80mph asks for provisional licence back

Court says he must make application to judge who sentenced him to four years in prison

A driver from Hull who was banned from driving for seven years after killing a cyclist as he and a friend raced their cars at speeds of up to 80mph has asked a court to return his provisional licence two years early.

Cyclist Ann Leung, aged 36, a CTC member and Community Participation Officer at Hull City Council, was killed instantly on 1 April 2004 when she was hit from behind on the city’s Holwell Road by a car driven by mechanic Michael Chapman, now aged 29, who had never passed his driving test.

In 2005, Chapman pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to causing death by dangerous driving, using a vehicle without insurance, failing to report an accident and failing to stop after an accident and was jailed for four years, with his licence suspended for seven years.

Chapman’s friend, John Eyre, now aged 32, was disqualified from driving at the time of the fatal crash and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and banned from driving for life after pleading guilty at a separate hearing to John Eyre pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, using a vehicle without insurance, failing to report an accident and failing to stop after an accident.

The Hull Daily Mail reports that Recorder Simon Phillips QC at Hull Crown Court refused to hear an application by Chapman to lift his ban, telling him that it needed to be made in front of Judge Roger Thorn QC, the judge who sentenced him.

It is not known whether Chapman intends to make a new application.
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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mikami111 | 9 years ago
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This guy murdered my friend. He should never be allowed behind a car wheel again, its like giving the murder weapon back.

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mr_colostomy | 13 years ago
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In the UK if you want to murder someone all you need is a car and a few hundred pounds to pay the fine. You'll almost certainly have your license back in a few years, assuming you even get a ban.

I remember reading a pair of stories on Crap Waltham Forest where in the same week a cyclist was murdered by a negligent motorist and received a fine which was around the same as that handed out as an on the spot fine for cyclists jumping a red light. It is a shame so few people care.

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Mountainboy | 13 years ago
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Sadly even someone serving a life disqualification can still request to have it lifted after 5 years.

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tommy2p | 13 years ago
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Maybe they should have received the same sentence as Ann Leungs family?

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thereverent | 13 years ago
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How in any way is this man suitable to hold a driving licence?
I really hope the judge sticks with the original sentence, although it would have been better to ban him for life like his friend. The list of offences is as long as my arm.

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Paul M | 13 years ago
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I very much hope that Judge Thorn sticks by his original ruling and makes him wait the remaining two years.

Slightly off topic, has anyone ever noticed that when you read articles on mainstream press websites about drivers killing cyclists etc, the ubiquitous pop-up ads that accompany them are about:

cars?

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