Shocking footage has emerged of a cyclist being flung over a car that mounted the pavement in Hawkinge, near Folkestone. Clive Williams, 41, had smoked a cannabis joint the night before he swerved into the path of Les Norris, causing a horrific life-changing injury to his pelvis.
The crash, captured on CCTV and dashcam, shows Williams' Ford Focus driving onto the pavement on Canterbury Road after the car in front braked hard. Mr Norris slammed into the handlebars, shattered his pelvis, bounced off the windscreen, flew over the car, and hit the ground. He also fractured ribs and his left wrist, requiring emergency surgery and six weeks in hospital.
Williams, of St Andrews Close, Folkestone, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving. Despite being twice the legal limit for cannabis at the time, he was not charged with a drug offence. Prosecutor Terry Knox said this was an aggravating factor. Magistrates spared Williams jail at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on October 9.
Mr Norris, 64, now has metal plates in his pelvis and wrist and a titanium cage in his pelvis. He told the court: 'When I saw the CT scan of my pelvis there were bits of bone everywhere and it was like it had exploded.' He has had to give up hobbies like skiing and paddleboarding, and suffers from mild PTSD, often bursting into tears.
His wife described receiving the 'worst call of her life' and seeing him on a ventilator. She said: 'Les was the main victim, but I feel like a victim too.' Williams, who had no previous convictions, said he performed an emergency manoeuvre to avoid a collision.
