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news
Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Motorist jailed for chasing down and hitting teenage cyclist in his car
A driver has been jailed for eight months for dangerous driving after chasing a cyclist and deliberately driving into him in King's Lynn. Johnny Cunningham, 29, who was originally arrested for attempted murder, was also banned from driving for 12 months.
The Eastern Daily Press describes ‘an atmosphere of considerable ill-feeling in the area’ leading up to the attack. The 16-year-old cyclist had been challenged by a woman carrying a metal bar, while other residents had also gathered with weapons. The cyclist himself is said to have left with his friends, all on bikes, and picked up a baseball bat.
The cyclist said that “everybody along St Edmundsbury Road was wound up. I knew they were coming after me.”
As he turned into Lawrence Road, he heard Cunningham’s silver Vauxhall Astra behind. Jude Durr, prosecuting, said Cunningham pursued the cyclist for about 100 metres into Estuary Close where he hit the victim’s back wheel, sending him over the handlebars.
“I knew they were after me,” said the cyclist. “I was really scared. I had no idea what they were going to do to me. I cannot remember anything else before waking up in hospital.”
Cunningham said he left the scene following the collision because the victim’s friends had caught up and were threatening trouble. William Carter, defending, said he then went home where he was physically sick.
Carter said that Cunningham had been egged on by a passenger in the car who had some issue with the cyclist and lacked the strength of character to refuse him. “It was most likely immaturity on his part, a lack of huge intelligence, that he did what he did.”
Knocked unconscious by the collision, the cyclist later came round at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but did not suffer any long-term injuries.
In 2010, a driver who deliberately knocked down and killed a Coventry cyclist in a road rage attack was jailed for life after being convicted of murder. Sean Fitzgerald used his car as a weapon to target Paul Webb after the cyclist damaged his wing mirror and rode away, ramming his mountain bike and catapulting him into a wall.
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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18 comments
Let us take it as read that no-one connected with this story is completely innocent, and that includes the Police and other 'responsible' authorities who are notable by their absence.
What bothers me more is the language used in the EDP article, particularly the use of the word "clipped" in reference to the striking of the bike by the car driver's car. If I was to 'clip' your ear then you would expect it to sting a bit; but, if I were to clip your ear with the force involved in a collision with a vehicle then you would be somersaulting like an Olympic gymnast.
The only thing that surprises me is that the article did not say that "Cunningham chased the cyclist and the cyclist collided with his car".
True, there's no context to the story, and it rather sounds like the youth was not blameless and probably was involved in some ongoing dispute already... but it seems odd that one can use a car as a weapon like that and only be charged with dangerous driving.
If the kid had whacked someone with that baseball bat would he have been charged with 'bad sportsmanship'?
It's only a matter of what you can prove and attempted murder is actually harder to prove than murder. Sounds odd doesn't it? But it's true. If you actually do kill someone by deliberately usinng your car like this then that would be murder. Murder is easy in this respect because there is a dead person. Attempted murder is far more deifficult to prove because there is no dead body. So what you now have to prove is something completely different. Now you have to prove that the driver fully intended to kill the lad on the bike (not scare, not injure, not maim, but kill) and just failed. So instead of a nice simple you deliberately drove the car at him and killed him. You now have to prove you drove the car at him fully intending to kill him but just missed.
Counter intuitively bat nonetheless true. That is harder to prove because you have prove what the driver intended to do that didn't happen rather than what he did do and the consequence.
Might be wrong but this seems to be a chav story not a cycling story. Nothing to do with cycling, but local scum having a go at each other. But then again as long as ity has a bicycle in it roadcc feels obliged to publish it. yawn...
Maybe not a lot to do with cycling directly, but it seems to have plenty to do with driving and the general attitude to cars of both drivers and the authorities. Which in turn seems to make it relevant to cycling.
Awfully written article. Road.cc should do more to investigate rather than just lift a badly written story from a local paper. This does not seem to be a "cyclist" issue more an assault of someone on a bike.
There can't be a lot do in King's Lynn.
was he a cyclist (in the 'true' manner) or just a 16 year old that happened to be on a bike at the time of the incident. No background as to why the whole altercation occurred....could just as easily been on a scooter/moped/foot and the weak willed assailant would have probably done the same...?? Whatever, using a motor vehicle deliberately as a weapon, and that is the paltry ban/outcome.....CPS, shame on you.
"The Eastern Daily Press (link is external) describes ‘an atmosphere of considerable ill-feeling in the area’ leading up to the attack. The 16-year-old cyclist had been challenged by a woman carrying a metal bar, while other residents had also gathered with weapons. The cyclist himself is said to have left with his friends, all on bikes, and picked up a baseball bat. - See more at: http://road.cc/content/news/170219-motorist-jailed-chasing-down-and-hitt..."
What has the cyclist done to wind up all these residents? There's more to the story here and although I believe he didn't deserved to be run down I think he was up to no good too...
and friends, wonder if they were the chavs hanging round the local shop making snide comments about anyone who wanders by that are all too common???
There is a not unimportant detail missing form this story.
Still not sure that running down with a car is acceptable, but from experience getting the police to deal with the problem isn't easy.
And trying not to stereotype, it appears to be a council estate.
Massive failure on your part there then.
Do you actually know the road? I can only go by what i can find on the Net and the design layout etc are all typical for council developments.
If it isn't fine.
Screen Shot 2015-10-31 at 18.00.56.png
Oh I do apologise. I thought you were saying "it would be stereotyping to suggest that it's on a council estate and therefore what do you expect" when what you were actually saying was "it would be stereotyping to suggest the roads make it look like a council estate.".
So you don't want to be seen as the sort of person that stereotypes roads, but it's fine to say "yeah it's on a council estate, what do you expect".
I do really hope I have misunderstood that too.
If this guy lacks the strength of character to refuse to attempt to kill people on demand with his car, he really ought to have a lifetime ban...
I tend to agree. The only thing cycling related in this story is that one of the protagonists in some local dispute happened to be riding a bicycle when the aggro happened.
I think attempted murder was probably never going to stick as I doubt the driver actually wanted to kill the boy. (although there is the obvious reasonable person test)
However I can't help thinking had the driver turned up on foot and hit the boy with a metal bar (which apparently other neigbours were carrying) and knocked him unconcious, it would have been GBH and he would have got a much harsher sentence. Why did the CPS not go for GBH? Just because he was in a car?
Well, it goes without saying that this story has almost no context. I'm tempted to say 'chavs fighting chavs'. That would be wrong though. No, really...
Just a 12 month ban? it isn't long enough.