Bradley Price, 19, was riding an adapted e-bike that could reach speeds of up to 70 mph when he ran a red light and hit a mother and her four-year-old son at a pedestrian crossing in Middleton on February 10. The mother and child were taken to hospital with injuries; the child suffered a head laceration requiring surgery, and the mother also needed surgery. Price was wearing a balaclava at the time, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Impact on Victims
The mum said: "We have both been left with permanent scars. I have a scar on my eye which is a permanent reminder of what happened. Things that used to be normal now feel threatening and overwhelming. The impact on my son has been heartbreaking. He is now scared of bikes and is not able to ride one himself. This accident has impacted every part of our lives. It has taken away our confidence." She added: "The impact on both of us has been devastating. It has changed our lives in ways that have been difficult to put into words."
Mitigation and Sentence
Prosecuting, Michael Pritchard KC said Price was later found with a machete. Mitigating, Oliver Jarvis said Price has a learning difficulty, delayed development, ADHD, and emotional dysregulation, and had no previous criminal convictions. Sentencing, Recorder Emma Fisher noted Price's vulnerability and conditions, saying: "You are said to be a vulnerable young man with a learning difficulty and that you would be seen to be disabled under the Equality Act. There is very strong mitigation in your case. I accept your remorse as genuine. There is the fact that you have no previous convictions. Your relative youth and immaturity and your condition probably of AuDHD or at the very least ADHD." She described the victims as vulnerable road users and added: "It is perhaps luck rather than judgement that thankfully their injuries were not more severe." Price is at high risk of serious harm to the public but has a low risk of reoffending and a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. Fisher said: "Essentially, I'm giving you a chance." Price pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, driving without a licence, and possession of a blade in public. He received a 17-month sentence suspended for 20 months, 10 days of rehabilitation activity, 180 hours of unpaid work, forfeiture and destruction of the blade, and court costs.
