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Pavement cyclist faces charges and media backlash after hitting toddler in incident caught on CCTV

Three-year-old girl left with cuts and bruises to her face, hands and knees after being dragged along by hit and run cyclist

A Blackpool cyclist is due to speak to police following a pavement hit and run involving a three-year-old girl. The incident was captured by a home CCTV camera and has led to the Daily Mail branding him ‘the most callous cyclist in Britain’.

In the video footage, the cyclist can be seen hitting Lucie Wilding and subsequently dragging her along the pavement.

Lucie’s mother, Lauren Howarth, told the Blackpool Gazette that she had been about to put her in the car for the school run when the incident took place.

“Lucie came out of our garden and this cyclist just whacked her. He just came out of nowhere, it happened in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t seen him but I never thought I’d have to look left and right coming from your doorstep.

“He hit her and the bike carried her along the front of our house, about 10 feet, then he fell off and it sort of released her and she was just lying there. For a second I thought he’d killed her. All of a sudden she let out this piercing scream, I’ve never heard a cry like it.”

Lucie’s father, Matt, can then be seen rushing to his injured daughter, but Lauren said that the cyclist quickly left.

“I was expecting him to say ‘I’m so sorry, is everyone okay?’ or something like that but there was nothing. As soon as he got up he started swearing at us, as if it was Lucie’s fault that he had hit her. The next thing we knew he’d gone and we’ve not heard from him since.”

A man in his twenties has since come forward and will be spoken to by Lancashire police. Investigating officer PC Joanna Mills said:

“There are a number of offences that will be discussed with this man – riding on pavements and dangerous cycling. For a three-year-old this isn’t a pleasant experience when you’re just walking from your home to your car. Lucie is lucky she’s escaped with only scrapes and bruises. It could have been a lot worse.”

The horrific nature of the incident and the man’s subsequent behaviour has led to the Daily Mail branding him ‘the most callous cyclist in Britain’. The newspaper has also since run a similar story involving a nine-year-old girl who suffered a broken wrist after being hit by a cyclist who mounted the pavement to overtake a bus.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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51 comments

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Sam Walker replied to paulrbarnard | 9 years ago
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3095366/Pavement-crash-destroyed...

What Andrew Holland needs is a cycling course, community service running errands for injured toddlers, and perhaps relocation and a new identity should that somewhat less thuggish profile of him not calm passions to a dull furore.

IMAGE(http://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/pics/pitchforks.jpg)

Quote:

The reason it's big news is because it's so rare. At least society can take some comfort in the fact that a cyclist causing an injury is rare enough to warrant a major news story. The fact that it gets everyone frothing at the mouth is the bit that upsets me.

You're not alone. Although of course it's also possible to get upset about the girl getting hit. I think most of us should be able to multitask that way.

http://prettygoodbritain.com/wp/?p=5021

sam@jollygoodthen

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southseabythesea | 9 years ago
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You get twats on bikes, twats in cars, twats on horses, twats on motorbikes, twats on a plane (like snakes on a plane!)... They all have one thing in common, when they get off they're all still twats. Twats happen, fact.

Personally, I would have twatted him.

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CanAmSteve | 9 years ago
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Idiot, certainly. Should be punished.

But "horrific"? Shouldn't we save some adjectives in case we need them later?

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harrybav | 9 years ago
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It's just the DM softening the audience up ahead of their Better Infrastructure campaign.

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HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
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I await the Daily Flail headline "pedestrian mugs pensioner" or "the most callous pedestrian in Britain".

So, of course, we're not all judged collectively. How silly of me.

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don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
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Why did the parents allow the child to run onto the pavement unattended?
Why wasn't the child wearing a hiviz jacket (SMIDSY)?
Would the child have sustained lighter injuries had they been wearing some form of body armour?
Not the cyclists fault as far as I can see.  16
I bet the sun was in his eyes too...

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Housecathst replied to don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
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don simon wrote:

Why did the parents allow the child to run onto the pavement unattended?
Why wasn't the child wearing a hiviz jacket (SMIDSY)?
Would the child have sustained lighter injuries had they been wearing some form of body armour?
Not the cyclists fault as far as I can see.  16
I bet the sun was in his eyes too...

Brilliant, how did I forget the, cast iron, get out of jail free card of the "the sun was in my eyes"

Sorry that's only applicable for motorists, in a ton of metal, doing double the speed limit, and on the phone..... But that's ok, because all Sun readers do that.

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Alf0nse | 9 years ago
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I think the phrase is "nodder"
But yeah a cyclist

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Housecathst | 9 years ago
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I bet the cyclist get a far harsher punishments than this lady

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-26520045

The moral of the story, as ever, as long as your driving a car you a reck as much death and carnage on the pavement as you like a walk away with a small fine.

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velodinho | 9 years ago
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A cyclist? He's an idiot.

I am also a cyclist, driver and pedestrian. I have three bikes, a car and more than a few pairs of shoes.

I would like to think I would be more careful and considerate than the idiot described, however I'm getting about the place.

In the spirit of comments on here, reserved for vehicle drivers who injure cyclists and then disappear. "Lock him up and throw away the key"?

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ChrisB200SX replied to velodinho | 9 years ago
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velodinho wrote:

In the spirit of comments on here, reserved for vehicle drivers who injure cyclists and then disappear. "Lock him up and throw away the key"?

You know he handed himself in?

Sure, they should throw the book at him... after the drivers have been properly dealt with for seriously injuring pedestrians and cyclists.

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Bishop replied to ChrisB200SX | 9 years ago
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ChrisB200SX wrote:

You know he handed himself in?

Like he had any choice! he's been outed on just about every UK media outlet going. I've even heard its playing on US news sites as well. The coward probably went to the Police for protection.

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Russell Orgazoid | 9 years ago
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This is just what the anti-cycling types will love.

Well done mate. They will tar us all with the same brush.

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kwi | 9 years ago
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Always baffles me when people start saying a person who rides a bicycle isn't a cyclist.

He's definitely a twat though.

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DivineChorus | 9 years ago
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Cyclists can never do wrong, this is obviously someone riding a bike.

It's the same with RLJers, they are never cyclists. Even the one I spoke to yesterday wearing full Rapha and riding a Oltre. Obviously just a bike rider.

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Bikebikebike | 9 years ago
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Waiting for a story where a car gives a toddler cuts and bruises and it makes the pages of the tabloids.

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Housecathst replied to Bikebikebike | 9 years ago
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Bikebikebike wrote:

Waiting for a story where a car gives a toddler cuts and bruises and it makes the pages of the tabloids.

This plus a thousand. The kid could have run into the road and under the wheels of a car and this would have barely have been a blip on the radar of the sun and the right wing media in general.

In other news, motorists are responsible for 80 hit an runs A WEEK in London alone.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/eighty-hitandruns-each-week-on-...

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atlaz | 9 years ago
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How do you know he's not a cyclist from a 2s view and in any case what does that even mean? Surely we don't differentiate between people who drive cars and "drivers".

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HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
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Cyclist? Or just some twat on a bike?

It's bad enough the Daily Flail judging us collectively, I'm unsure why road.cc is joining in too.

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jasecd replied to HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
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Exactly - not a cyclist.

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Batchy replied to HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
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HalfWheeler wrote:

Cyclist? Or just some twat on a bike?

It's bad enough the Daily Flail judging us collectively, I'm unsure why road.cc is joining in too.

Exactly! There are plenty of TWATS like this in Kendal where I live but the local police appear to be blind when these TWATS are out and about!
Mind you, there are far more TWATS that drive cars and they are all motorists !

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