A Northumberland pensioner has been sentenced after knocking a cyclist off his bike in a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre on a blind bend, leaving the victim with serious injuries.
John Rice, 79, was moments from his home after playing tennis when he encountered an experienced cyclist on an unclassified road near his home in Stannington on April 26 2023. The former accountant was running late because his tennis game overran, and he knew his wife was waiting to go to church choir practice.
Dangerous overtaking on a blind bend
As he went down an incline towards a 90 degree bend, Rice made the "extremely poor decision" to overtake the cyclist in his Ford Kuga. Judge Tim Gittins, at Newcastle Crown Court, said the manoeuvre was "borne, no doubt, out of a degree of impatience and frustration that he was in front of you, even though he was doing more than 20mph, which was more than adequate for any vehicle at such a road layout."
The judge told Rice: "You conducted that overtaking manoeuvre while you were but moments from your own home and even closer to a much safer location, a passing place just around the bend." The overtaking involved going onto a rough grass verge, which the judge said was "not an appropriate, safe overtaking location to overtake any vehicle, particularly a vulnerable road user like a cyclist approaching that sharp bend."
Serious injuries and impact
The court heard Rice cut across the cyclist early, striking him, probably with his wing mirror, and knocking him off his bike. The victim suffered serious injuries, including a fractured collarbone requiring surgery and a frozen shoulder, along with an injury to his eye and grazes from hitting the road.
Judge Gittins said: "This was a dangerous manoeuvre from the outset that should never have taken place, given how vulnerable he was and the location, approaching that bend. Serious though those injuries were, they could have been so much worse."
The victim was in significant pain during a long recovery and rehabilitation period. In a victim impact statement, he said the crash had a "significant and lasting effect" on his and his family's lives. He was in "extreme pain" and his wife had to take time off work to help him wash and dress. He had trouble sleeping, suffered night terrors about being hit by the car, and his mental health suffered, requiring cognitive behavioural therapy.
The man, who manages and maintains rental properties, said he still struggles with getting frustrated easily and lacks strength in his dominant arm and shoulder. He had to take around a year off work due to his injuries.
Sentencing and background
Rice, who has no previous convictions, was found guilty after a trial of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 12 months suspended for 18 months with a two-year driving ban and £4,830 costs.
The court heard there was no significant excess speed involved and Rice was not distracted by his phone. Judge Gittins said Rice had an "exemplary career" as an accountant in the public and private sectors and plays a significant role in his local church, with the parish priest among those to provide a reference.
Nick Lane, defending, said the priest, Rice's doctor and family members were among those to provide character references. He added that Rice had got help from a neighbour, who is a doctor, after the collision and called the police. Mr Lane said: "He said it's a source of deep regret that he finds himself losing his good name at such an age. John Rice is a family man, married to his wife for more than 55 years and he has children and grandchildren."
Rice, whose address was given as a farm in Stannington, is remorseful for the injuries he caused, although he still has some reluctance to accept the jury's guilty verdict. Mr Lane said Rice does not currently intend to drive again, even when his disqualification comes to an end.
