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news
Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgCar passenger who pulled cyclist off bike, causing serious injuries, escapes custodial sentence
A car passenger who leant out of the vehicle’s window to pull a cyclist from his bike, causing serious injuries, has escaped a custodial sentence.
Ashton Nutting, aged 20, received a six-month detention sentence, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to actual bodily harm in respect of the incident, reports the Leicester Mercury.
The incident happened on the B5380 near Botcheston at 8.20am on Monday 27 January 2020.
Prosecutor Thomas Welshman told Leicester Crown Court that the occupants of the car shouted abuse at the cyclist as they passed him.
The cyclist responded with a gesture and then, when he was alongside the vehicle, Nutting leant out and pulled him off his bike.
The victim, who sustained a broken elbow and two broken fingers, needed to undergo physiotherapy for a number of months and also spent five weeks in a cast.
When questioned by police, Nutting said that he made contact with the cyclist but insisted he was acting in self-defence. However, he subsequently pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm.
Judge Keith Raynor, sentencing Nutting, said: "This was an absolutely idiotic thing to do. You were a passenger in a car and he was on his bike. Something went on between you.
“When he was alongside the car you were seen, by independent witnesses, to put your head and arm out of the car window.
“You grabbed hold of him on his bike and pulled him down to the floor, causing him to suffer significant injuries – a fractured elbow and two broken fingers.
“Cyclists are vulnerable in those circumstances and you left him in a real state afterwards.”
In mitigation, Michael Haggar said that Nutting “has mental health concerns” and that his partner is due to give birth next month.
Nutting was told to pay £1,500 in compensation to the victim plus costs of £200 and a £122 victim surcharge.
Judge Raynor explained that reasons he was handing down a suspended sentence included Nutting’s lack of prior convictions, as well as the restrictions in penal institutions regarding coronavirus.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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15 comments
Mental health concerns, violent tendencies and a baby on the way. I fear for the partner and child.
He certainly looks dangerous.
Is Nutting pregnant too!?
The comments in the local news story are instructive. Here are a couple :
"There is a bit more to this story firstly the cyclist don't rule the road,,the car is the king,, secondary the cyclist gave him the finger so there was argument and the cyclist got hurt big deal,,,,,if the car was involved in a argument with an artic lorry there is only one winner"
and in reply
"He has a point. This kind of thing (road rage) and accidents are inevitable as unfortunately there are far more cyclists on the road now than ever before. Cycling in this day and age is dangerous and should be restricted where possible to commute to work, cycle lanes and trails for pleasure riding. If you dress up in Lycra and ride a racing cycle like you’re in the Tour de France on winding country roads, you are asking for trouble."
I am afraid that the judges decision will do little to convince these people, and many others like them, that what has happened is wrong and we cyclists will continue to suffer the consequences.
That first one I honestly think is someone being sarcastic (soctratastic?) but the new reply is definitely real Socrati as it has only appeared since he was aware of the link.
And why was the driver not also done for close pass?
There needs to be a separate offence for drivers of allowing an assault to occur.....
Aiding and abetting? Common cause?
I see no reason why the driver could not be charged as an accessory to the assault. The driver would have to be complicit in the offence.
Here in Australia there are motor vehicle offences that can be used, from menacing driving to driving with passenger not contained inside the vehicle. The advantage with this is that mandatory licence suspension applies to menacing driving.
Most the driver could gave been done for is seat belts status and that is just fine. There might have been something else if he had moved closer to enable it.
Your Responsibility For Your Passengers
First event might not have been a close pass and the second one might have been when the cyclist was the filtering past the queueing cars at a guess. However if he drove off afterwards he should have been done but I can't see anything that states they did. The Judge does mention "you left him in a real state" but I read that as in the injuries sustained and not actually leaving the scene.
The other link also stated Nutting had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia so him assaulting the cyclist might have been a sudden whim which the driver wasn't ready for. (Although as it was January the window being wound down might have been a clue but he probably thought it would just be words again).
"A car passenger who leant out of the vehicle’s window to pull a customer from his bike..."
What was he buying?
Well at least they didn't take the cyclist away with them, otherwise prosecuting the case would've got a lot more difficult.
'...the incident, which left the cyclist unable to proof-read any of the reports in the Leicester Mercury.'
Something illegal ?
I really hope the "restrictions in penal institutions regarding coronavirus" is the main reason for not being in prison.
It's a a shame Nutting did not show the same level of concern toward the victims wellbeing before dumping him off his bike and leaving him with multiple fractures and psychological issues.