A driver who had drunk up to six pints of beer before picking his children up from school then knocking down and killing a cyclist in a road rage attack has been found guilty of murder.
According to various court reports during the trial, on 8th May 2026 40-year-old David Morgan had been drinking at the Sole and Heel Pub in Rackheath from 12.30pm, before collecting his children from school at 3pm. He then returned to the pub with his children, then drove to another pub on the north side of Norwich.
It’s on this journey it was reported that Morgan encountered 50-year-old father-of-three Richard Smith, who was cycling home from work on Chartwell Road in Norwich. According to witnesses, there was a brief altercation and Smith made contact with Morgan’s white Mercedes, before Smith rode away.
Dashcam footage captured the moment that Morgan, in a fit of rage, caught up with Smith and swerved his car towards the victim, before Smith fell from his bike and Morgan drove off. Mr Smith was taken to hospital with catastrophic head injuries, and was pronounced dead three days later.
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After the incident, police tracked down Morgan’s Mercedes on Bignold Road in Norwich, and arrested him for attempted murder. Via the police bodycam, Morgan is heard saying: “Oh that f*****g idiot. Yeah, he’s punched my wing mirror and then literally hit my wing mirror and then it fell off.”
Morgan is reminded that he is under caution, but continues: “He hit my wing mirror, he fell off his bike and I carried on driving. He called me a d*** head and I had my kids in the car.”
As well as being over the drink driving limit, Morgan also tested positive for cannabis and cocaine according to court reports.
He gave numerous different accounts of what happened in an attempt to divert blame, said prosecutors during the trial, and said he only swerved his car towards Smith to “intimidate him” and “teach him a lesson”; however, CCTV footage from outside his father’s house after the incident recorded Morgan admitting to knocking Smith off his bike: “I ain’t having it, no ****** is going to touch my car”, he said.
Morgan had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter, but after a trial that lasted eight days, the jury unanimously found him guilty of murdering Mr Smith.
The senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Inspector Sam Pontin, said after the verdict: “Richard was a much-loved husband, father, and friend whose life was tragically cut short by a deliberate act. Our thoughts remain with his family, who have shown remarkable dignity throughout this investigation and trial.
“The evidence presented to the jury demonstrated that Morgan intentionally used his vehicle as a weapon following a moment of road rage. Even in the aftermath of the collision, he showed little concern for Richard’s welfare and instead sought to blame the victim for what had happened.
“We welcome today’s verdict, which reflects the seriousness of Morgan’s actions. While no outcome can undo the devastating loss suffered by Richard’s family, we hope this verdict provides them with some measure of justice.”
It’s extremely rare for drivers who kill cyclists to be convicted of murder in England – road.cc having reported on just a handful of cases since 2008 – but Morgan’s conviction is the second in two weeks after Simon Richardson was found guilty of murdering headteacher Michael Mullins in a shocking hit-and-run incident in Manchester.
Richardson, who had 28 previous convictions, struck Mr Mullins while speeding, trapping him under hid car before dragging him along the road for over a mile and then leaving him for dead. He repeatedly denied the offence, putting Mr Mullins’ family through a lengthy trial, but was found guilty of murder. Richardson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years and disqualified from driving for life, the latter punishment also extremely uncommon in England and the rest of the UK.
Morgan has been remanded in custody, and is due to appear at Norwich Crown Court for sentencing on 30th November.
1 thought on “Drink driver who killed cyclist in road rage attack while his children were in car found guilty of murder”
Well done to the prosecution team for getting a Murder charge to stick. All to often it would get watered down to manslaughter in cases like this. Good to see justice getting done.