An unrepentant driving instructor who left a cyclist with life-changing injuries after clattering into her at 55mph on a rural road has earned support from a portion of the Daily Mail’s readership, who have criticised the grandmother for failing to wear high-visibility clothing, while accusing her “dicking about in the way like the rest of them”.

Rebecca Tanton was left with a range of horrifying injuries, including a broken pelvis, fractured eye socket, and host of other broken bones when driving instructor Jon Dick struck her from behind in Lincolnshire two years ago.

Dick was handed a suspended prison sentence and banned from driving for two years following the sickening collision, but insists he did nothing wrong and is allegedly yet to apologise to the cyclist.

Tanton, a grandmother in her late 50s, was riding on Manby Road towards the Lincolnshire town of Louth, just after 4pm on 7 October 2024 when she was struck by Dick.

Dashcam footage from the driving instructor’s car, published by the Daily Mail, shows him approaching the cyclist at speed, before sending her flying into the air and clattering to the ground face-first, as a following motorist swerves to avoid the stricken rider.

In footage from inside the car, Dick can be seen driving with one hand on the steering wheel at 55mph, while he glances at his rearview mirror a second before hitting Tanton. Shortly after the impact, the startled driving instructor can be heard shouting, “f***ing a***holes”.

Tanton’s pelvis was “smashed to pieces” in the crash, while she also suffered fractures along the entire right side of her body. A fractured eye socket also caused a huge hole in her face, which was haemorrhaging so much blood that she was forced to undergo surgery that night.

She spent several weeks in intensive care, during which seven metal plates were screwed into her pelvis, hip, and shoulder.

“I remember very little of the aftermath, but I heard someone say I wouldn’t make it if they put me in the air ambulance,” Tanton told the Mail.

“The paramedics wanted to take me to Hull, but realised I would have to go to Grimsby first by road to be stabilised. I needed an emergency blood transfusion because I was losing so much.

“From the moment Jon Dick carelessly drove his car into me, he took away my freedom, independence, and love of life.”

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Five months after the crash, in March 2025, as her wounds were beginning to heal, Tanton contracted sepsis, due to infection taking hold around the plates. During her subsequent surgery, her bladder was accidentally torn, forcing her to use a catheter for three months.

In yet another terrible turn of events, Tanton woke from her surgery to discover that her son Josh, a 33-year-old marine pilot, had died suddenly from a rare brain tumour.

“The funeral of my beloved son had to be postponed until I was in a stable condition to attend,” she said. “Which I did with a catheter, and barely able to walk, because of the injuries caused in this collision.”

While her sepsis cleared, doctors later discovered that the infection was still clinging to the plates, which could not be removed because her bones had not properly fused, leaving her with what she describes as a “ticking time bomb”.

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In December 2025, Dick was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from driving for 24 months.

According to Tanton, the driving instructor has never apologised for the crash, while always insisting he did nothing wrong prior to the collision.

However, Dick told the Mail that he had asked police to pass on his apologies and best wishes to Tanton, but was unsure whether the message had been relayed.

“My helmet saved my life, there is absolutely no doubt about that,” the cyclist said, reflecting on the crash.

“But my life is changed completely. I am simply existing in constant pain, while Jon Dick is still walking around freely – and he has shown no remorse whatsoever.”

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However, despite telling her story to the Dail Mail, Tanton won’t receive much sympathy from a substantial portion of the newspaper’s readership, if the comments in response to the article are anything to go by.

In fact, a large number of those commenting accused Tanton of “being in the way” on the rural road, while arguing that her dark clothing made her difficult to see.

“It’s awful, but in his defence, he clearly didn’t see her as he was driving up hill directly into sun and she’s wearing dark clothing,” Matt Hill wrote on Facebook.

“Please will cyclists wear hi-vis clothing of some sort when they ride, for their own sakes. They can be very hard to see,” added one reader in the Mail’s own comments section.

“Flashing red rear lights in sunlight or shade caused by overhanging trees make a massive difference to viability,” said Terry Nye.

“I’m not blaming anyone as I’m a cyclist. Just info to hopefully make people aware how much strong sunlight can alter visibility. Many clubs now seem to run flashing lights in daytime now. I hope the lady makes a good recovery.”

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Meanwhile, Susan Elwood suggested that Tanton may have been “out to prove a point” before the sickening crash.

“The problem is many cyclists are out to prove a point and they deliberately get in the way, especially on country lanes,” she said, while Sam Down asked: “Was she dicking about in the way like the rest of them?”

And another Mail reader said: “She was swaying from left to right with each turn of her pedals. She was an accident waiting to happen.”

Thankfully, not every Mail reader was eager to blame the cyclist for the collision.

“In the video she was clearly visible long before he hit her,” said Sue. “Arrogant driver who should NEVER be allowed behind the wheel again, let alone teach others to drive!”

And Natalie wrote: “So he didn’t see her because he took his eyes off the road ahead of him – you can see he turned and looked out the passenger window then turned back, then tried to miss her.

“Yet you can clearly see her way before he hit her. This just shows that within a couple of seconds of taking your eyes off the road you can quite easily kill or serious injury someone.”