- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Woman who caused cyclist to fall off his bike and die banned from driving for six months
A woman who opened her car door without looking, causing a cyclist to fall off his bike and suffer fatal head injuries, has been banned for driving for six months and fined £305.
Robert Hamilton, aged in his 70s, was riding along Linaker Street in Southport in January this year when mum-of-one Joanne Jackson, 44, opened the drivers door of her Toyota Avensis into the road, killing him.
Instead of manslaughter, however, the Crown Prosecution Service chose to pursue the lesser charge of opening a car door so as to injure or endanger a person, which Jackson admitted to, at Wirral magistrates’ court on Thursday.
Jonathan Egan, prosecuting, told how one witness said the door hit the cyclist, another that it caused him to swerve, but either way her act was “negligent” and caused him to fall.
Mr Hamilton was taken to Preston Hospital by air ambulance, but later died of his injuries.
Jackson, representing herself, told the court: “I’m very, very sorry. It was an accident. I have got to live with this as well.”
Robert’s widow, May, has criticised the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to prosecute Jackson with manslaughter, and instead charge her with a traffic offence.
Mrs Hamilton told the Liverpool Echo: “It’s been absolutely devastating. I am so disgusted with the way these sorts of deaths are trivialised with very minor charges.
“Robert wasn’t wearing a helmet, but I was told that was irrelevant [in terms of charges]. Robert cycled all across Europe for charity.
“He did wear a helmet on longer routes but not shorter ones. One thing you can be sure of, more people are going to die the way Robert did. I wonder how many more before the law takes these sort of deaths seriously?”
Claire Lindley, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “The offence of manslaughter was very carefully considered by senior prosecutors, and a decision was taken that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for that offence.
"This is a tragic case, and our thoughts are with Mrs Hamilton and her family.”
Latest Comments
- David9694 4 sec ago
Car crashing into Colchester Co-op sees two hospitalised https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/24719022.car-crashing-colchester-co-...
- mdavidford 5 sec ago
That's an 'interesting and brave' repurposing of the word 'highbrow' there.
- mdavidford 6 min 55 sec ago
Best to avoid driving on the A34 if at all possible, never mind cycling on it.
- . . 11 min 34 sec ago
I have two of these (I use one on the front with the red LED turned off and taped up) and think they are great, at least in daylight Plenty of...
- JohnMcL7 41 min 41 sec ago
With the lack of any decent content updates for a long time now, the build up to the tenth anniversary and the big hike in monthly price we'd...
- Prosper0 1 hour 1 min ago
No offence to Endura, but same advice as to Rapha, I actually have all the kit I need, for probably several years. You need to go and win the next...
- froze 1 hour 1 min ago
Well, thanks for correcting me, I thought that bike was still in production! That bike was great though, too bad, so sad it's gone.
- chrisonabike 4 hours 55 min ago
Ah - yes, they've got an American Star the wrong way round (means the child carrier needs rearranged though). Or it could be a Facile but inverted?
- lesterama 6 hours 48 min ago
What a bunch of ases
- quiff 7 hours 41 min ago
It was only your comment in the carousel that first brought me here, and yet I still managed to read most of the page before remembering this isn't...
Add new comment
46 comments
Yes good point, we've all done things wrong, but id be surprised if 0.00000005% of people who have made such a mistake has lead to the death of someone. And TBH her remark of
doesn't really show she is thinking of anyone except herself, which doesn't put her in any better a light imo.
I think that means she will have it on her conscience. I don't think that's thinking of yourself overly. Merely a statement of extreme regret.
Surely the point is not that she made a mistake, but that she made an error and as a direct consequence, somebody died.
I really and honestly would hope that if I did make an error, and that somebody died because of it, that I would be able to put my hand up and say, "Its a fair cop." I would expect the same of anyone else.
Well she did didn't she? She pleaded guilty.
Sorry, may have had a foot/mouth intersection there. My post was picking on the "don't blame her cos it could happen to anyone" school of thought. I actually think that it is pretty brave to plead guilty. It so rarely happens.
When are we going to get the possibility to mark a comment "dislike", and not just the "like" choice.
I'm thinking of the comment by " truffy".
It's heartless, and malicious.
It is better to debate rationally, down-voting is a bad system according to the boffins:
negative feedback leads to behavioral changes that are hugely detrimental to the community
thanks for the article in the link. Summary: ignore the trolls and they are less likely to post.
No. It wasn't. It was negligence.
Nice to have that choice, isn't it?
Well no one here is likely to disagree with that statement.
So presumably he saw the value of wearing a helmet, but just didn't bother on this occasion. It may not have saved his life, but it may have done. Contributory negligence IMO.
<dons flameproof undergarments/>
Stop trolling.
I wonder what would've happened if it had been a pedestrian flinging a lump of metal which was merely the same shape and size as a car door onto the road, causing a motorist to swerve/crash and die?
A young lad got three years in jail recently for throwing stuff from a road bridge over the A1. He did hit a lorry but nobody was badly hurt fortunately http://tinyurl.com/plvygln
Could the widow take out a civil case against the woman? Would her chances be any good at winning?
I have known this to happen twice where a cyclist died from a incident like this and the driver only got fined.
A cyclist life has very little worth on the roads.
It wasnt an 'accident'. It was a clear case of negligence caused but utter incompetence. She can whine all she likes but at least she got to live.
Pages