Drugged-up driver ploughed into cyclist after cocaine and cannabis binge

Bolton Crown Court heard how 40-year-old Andrew Taylor's bike was clearly visible to Vauxhall Corsa driver Matthew Gee for several seconds before he ran into him, hurling him into the air.

The night before the collision 30-year-old Gee admitted he had taken cocaine and cannabis.

"It seems to me a significant possibility that the significant levels of drugs still within your system were a contributory factor," Judge Graeme Smith told him.

"And that is why, of many reasons we see in these courts every day, drugs cause such harm in society."

John Kennerley, prosecuting, told how Mr Taylor was riding his £2,500 Ribble Endurance cycle on Hardy Mill Road, Harwood, near Bramhall Avenue, at around 20kmph, when the bike was hit from behind.

Dashcam footage from another motorist showed the cycle close to the pavement when it was struck and Mr Taylor being hurled into the air at around 3.30pm on March 25 last year.

Hardy Mill Road

He landed on the ground suffering a damaged shoulder and calf, gash in his elbow which needed stitches and a broken pelvis.

"To put it bluntly, the defendant drove straight into the rear of the cyclist and the cyclist remembers flying through the air and landing on his right side in considerable pain," said Mr Kennerley.

"The driver of the vehicle immediately stopped and came up to the cyclist and said, 'sorry mate, I'm really sorry mate'."

Gee, of Glencoe Drive, Breightmet, admitted to police who arrived at the scene, that he was the driver.

"He said simply that he did not see the cyclist until he heard the impact," said Mr Kennerley.

After officers smelled cannabis in his vehicle, Gee was tested and found to have high levels of cocaine and cannabis in his system.

The court heard that Mr Taylor is recovering well from his injuries but is waiting to see a plastic surgeon about scarring and now has issues with confidence.

Colin Buckle, defending, said Gee, who pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drug driving, has no previous convictions and lost his job with Warburton's bakery as a result of the incident.

He added that Gee "could have little complaint" if he was sent to jail, but stressed that the driver had not been speeding and "simply didn't see the cyclist".

"He was clearly distracted which is probably linked to the presence of drugs and not an insignificant amount of drugs, the defendant says, were taken the night before," said Mr Buckle.

The court heard that, since the crash, Gee has sought help for tackling his drug use.

"It is an appropriate, mature and sensible response to what was a serious incident," said Mr Buckle.

Judge Smith sentenced Gee to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, ordered him to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work and he must also participate in 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

Gee was banned from driving for two years and six months, after which he will have to take an extended retest.

"None of the features we tend to see regularly in these courts of speeding, ignoring road signs, driving on the wrong side or the road, and so on, were present in this case," said Judge Smith.

"What was present was, at worst, inattention for a significant period of time."