A drug driver who killed a cyclist before fleeing the scene and setting fire to his car in a bid to destroy evidence has been jailed for 14 years.

Jonathan Knight was sentenced to 11 years for driving offences and three years for perverting the course of justice. He was found guilty of causing death by driving without due care/consideration when under the influence of drugs, causing death by driving while unlicenced, causing death by driving while uninsured, driving a motor vehicle dangerously and perverting the course of justice.

Jonathan Knight jailed for 14 years for killing cyclist
Jonathan Knight jailed for 14 years for killing cyclist (Image Credit: Leicestershire Police)

The charges were in relation to the death of cyclist Anthony Smith who was hit and killed as he used a dedicated cycle crossing on a dual carriageway in Loughborough shortly after 8pm on Friday 7 June 2023.

Knight, who did not have a driving licence or insurance and was deemed to be six times the legal drug driving limit for cocaine, was driving at 47mph on the 40mph route when he hit Mr Smith.

The Leicester Mercury was in court to hear the judge’s sentencing remarks, Judge Timothy Spencer KC telling Leicester Crown Court: “Such was the force of collision that he [Mr Smith], having initially been carried on your bonnet, was projected airborne, before landing at the side of the road — in all probability already dead from the head injury he sustained from the impact.”

East Midlands Ambulance Service and an air ambulance attended but the cyclist died at the scene.

Following the collision, Knight did not stop or help his 47-year-old victim, instead fleeing the scene and continuing to drive his badly damaged Audi S3 through Loughborough. His windscreen was so badly damaged that Knight put his head out the driver’s side window to see where he was going.

“You showed no compassion — desperate to get away — driving off at speed. And have continued to do all you can to shirk responsibility since,” the judge continued. “You drove to your mother’s. The shameless behaviour continued. You drove the car to an alleyway and took with you something to ignite a fire. You set fire to it. I’m quite sure you intended to completely destroy it — wipe the traces.”

Knight was arrested at 4am the next morning, the judge saying he had seen the police’s body-cam footage and the drug driver was “shaking, refusing to get up off the sofa, self-pitying, selfish — displaying all the attributes of the coward you are described as”.

“When questioned you lied, claiming a mental health episode and deficient memory. I am quite satisfied you knew perfectly well what you had done and were perfectly able to remember it. Your attitude of refusing to face up to the reality of what you did continued with ‘no comment’ interviews.”

A key part of the investigation involved forensic examination of broken glass. Mr Smith’s jacket was recovered and found to have ten fragments of glass on its surface. On arrest, Knight’s sweatshirt was seized and was also found to have 50 glass fragments.

Following forensic examination of all the samples recovered, it was the scientific opinion that Anthony had been struck and had been in recent contact with the breaking and or/broken glass from the windscreen of the damaged Audi and that Knight had also and had been in recent contact with the breaking and or/broken glass from the windscreen of the same damaged Audi.

The investigation also managed to place Knight through his mobile phone in the vicinity of the collision scene at the time it occurred.

An expert toxicologist, with 47 years’ experience, suggested Knight would have been six times over the legal limit for cocaine.

“You should never have been behind the wheel because of the cocaine you had taken. Nor should you have been behind the wheel because you were uninsured,” Judge Spencer concluded, jailing Knight for 14 years and banning him from driving for 13 years and eight months.

“Nor should you have been behind the wheel because you had no licence. You approached the crossing along a straight road. You should have seen Mr Smith on his cycle. You did not because you were impaired by the drugs. For no good reason, you were in the outside lane of the dual carriageway.

“You began braking – too late – when you were too close to the crossing. Your speed was 47mph – the speed limit was 40 mph, so you were speeding. You struck his rear wheel. Had you been driving in the nearside lane, he may have made it across in front of you.”

The judge noted Knight had “no difficulty in brazening out your defence” during the trial and suggested his remorse, expressed on the morning of sentencing “has a very hollow ring coming so late”.

The judge also said he was “satisfied on the evidence there was a female in the front passenger seat” at the time of the collision but “it’s not possible to know who”.

“You were or have been in relationships with at least three women. Whoever she was – and you know who she was and she knows who she was – she bears heavy moral responsibility for your failure to stop or report the collision.”

Leicestershire Police confirmed a 40-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman who were previously arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice were released with no further action.

Detective Constable Paul Hicks, who was the investigating officer, said: “We had no witness to the actual collision which from the start made the case more challenging and gave it an added level of complexity.

“However, through some detailed detective work and excellent forensic evidence, we were able to place Knight as the driver of the vehicle, which hit and sadly killed Tony. Given the clear attempts to destroy any possible evidence by abandoning and setting the car alight, Knight was additionally charged with perverting the course of justice, another offence which strengthened the overwhelming case against him.”