Simeon Richards, a 26-year-old masked off-road biker, struck a child with such force that the victim was thrown “six feet into the air” before he fled the scene and swerved into oncoming traffic. Richards then threatened to kill innocent members of the public who stepped in to detain him, stating that he “didn’t care” about what he had just done, including the possibility that he may have killed the child.
Incident Details
The incident occurred in Cardiff on March 20 this year, as children were walking home from school. Prosecutor Pamela Kaiga told Cardiff Crown Court that Richards was part of a group of individuals travelling on off-road bikes and wearing balaclavas. As Richards moved to the right to overtake traffic, he struck the child, knocking them off their feet. A witness reported seeing the child thrown “six feet into the air”.
After hitting the victim, Richards rode away at speed and entered the wrong side of the road, where he collided with an oncoming car. This crash caused Richards to come off his bike. The car was occupied by a mother and her young child, and sustained damage to its front tyres and front lights.
Public Detainment and Threats
Following the collision, Richards attempted to leave the scene on foot. Two members of the public detained him on the ground. One of them told Richards: “Do you not realise you nearly killed a child?” Richards responded: “I don't f***** care, get off me.” He continued trying to get away and threatened: “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill the lot of you.”
Legal Proceedings
Richards, of Deere Place in Ely, answered no comment throughout his police interview. He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, and having no insurance. He has two convictions for three drug-related offences and was on license for attempting to carry articles into a prison at the time of the offence, for which he was subsequently recalled to prison.
In their victim impact statement, the child victim described how the incident left them in pain, struggling to sleep, and unable to take part in hobbies. The child survived but sustained painful injuries including a broken bone.
Sentencing
Defending Richards, Elin Morgan stressed that her client’s actions were not deliberate. She said: “He was overtaking vehicles when the victim was crossing the road and he didn’t see [them].” She noted that Richards sustained back and neck injuries in the subsequent crash, which were not treated, and described him as “remorseful” and “ashamed”.
Recorder Mark Powell KC sentenced Richards, stating: “You acted in a way that completely disregarded the rules of the road.” He queried why Richards had not been charged with the more serious offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Looking at the sentencing guidelines for dangerous driving, Recorder Powell described the maximum sentence available for him to pass as “woefully inadequate”. He sentenced Richards to 17 months in prison.
