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Woman who caused cyclist to fall off his bike and die banned from driving for six monthsJustice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)

Woman who caused cyclist to fall off his bike and die banned from driving for six months

CPS charge on a traffic offence rather than manslaughter; widow hits out at decision
by Sarah Barth
Sun, Sep 07, 2014 08:41
46

A woman who opened her car door without looking, causing a cyclist to fall off his bike and suffer fatal head injuries, has been banned for driving for six months and fined £305.

Robert Hamilton, aged in his 70s, was riding along Linaker Street in Southport in January this year when mum-of-one Joanne Jackson, 44, opened the drivers door of her Toyota Avensis into the road, killing him.

Instead of manslaughter, however, the Crown Prosecution Service chose to pursue the lesser charge of opening a car door so as to injure or endanger a person, which Jackson admitted to, at Wirral magistrates’ court on Thursday.

Jonathan Egan, prosecuting, told how one witness said the door hit the cyclist, another that it caused him to swerve, but either way her act was “negligent” and caused him to fall.

Mr Hamilton was taken to Preston Hospital by air ambulance, but later died of his injuries.

Jackson, representing herself, told the court: “I’m very, very sorry. It was an accident. I have got to live with this as well.”

Robert’s widow, May, has criticised the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to prosecute Jackson with manslaughter, and instead charge her with a traffic offence.

Mrs Hamilton told the Liverpool Echo: “It’s been absolutely devastating. I am so disgusted with the way these sorts of deaths are trivialised with very minor charges.

“Robert wasn’t wearing a helmet, but I was told that was irrelevant [in terms of charges]. Robert cycled all across Europe for charity.

“He did wear a helmet on longer routes but not shorter ones. One thing you can be sure of, more people are going to die the way Robert did. I wonder how many more before the law takes these sort of deaths seriously?”

Claire Lindley, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “The offence of manslaughter was very carefully considered by senior prosecutors, and a decision was taken that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for that offence.

"This is a tragic case, and our thoughts are with Mrs Hamilton and her family.”

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46 comments

Avatar
Das replied to indyjukebox | 10 years ago
0 likes
indyjukebox wrote:

For the posters who call it clear negligence, are you telling me that you are such a saint, that you have never made an error in your life? You have never made an error whilst cycling/driving? Never had a drink and done something stupid? God forbid if such an error on your/your wife's part causes you/your wife to end up in a similar state as the woman in this case

Yes good point, we've all done things wrong, but id be surprised if 0.00000005% of people who have made such a mistake has lead to the death of someone. And TBH her remark of

Quote:

I have got to live with this as well

doesn't really show she is thinking of anyone except herself, which doesn't put her in any better a light imo.

Avatar
oozaveared replied to Das | 10 years ago
0 likes
Das wrote:
indyjukebox wrote:

For the posters who call it clear negligence, are you telling me that you are such a saint, that you have never made an error in your life? You have never made an error whilst cycling/driving? Never had a drink and done something stupid? God forbid if such an error on your/your wife's part causes you/your wife to end up in a similar state as the woman in this case

Yes good point, we've all done things wrong, but id be surprised if 0.00000005% of people who have made such a mistake has lead to the death of someone. And TBH her remark of

Quote:

I have got to live with this as well

doesn't really show she is thinking of anyone except herself, which doesn't put her in any better a light imo.

I think that means she will have it on her conscience. I don't think that's thinking of yourself overly. Merely a statement of extreme regret.

Avatar
brooksby replied to indyjukebox | 10 years ago
0 likes
indyjukebox wrote:

..., are you telling me that you are such a saint, that you have never made an error in your life? You have never made an error whilst cycling/driving? Never had a drink and done something stupid? God forbid if such an error on your/your wife's part causes you/your wife to end up in a similar state as the woman in this case.

Surely the point is not that she made a mistake, but that she made an error and as a direct consequence, somebody died.

I really and honestly would hope that if I did make an error, and that somebody died because of it, that I would be able to put my hand up and say, "Its a fair cop." I would expect the same of anyone else.

Avatar
oozaveared replied to brooksby | 10 years ago
0 likes
brooksby wrote:
indyjukebox wrote:

..., are you telling me that you are such a saint, that you have never made an error in your life? You have never made an error whilst cycling/driving? Never had a drink and done something stupid? God forbid if such an error on your/your wife's part causes you/your wife to end up in a similar state as the woman in this case.

Surely the point is not that she made a mistake, but that she made an error and as a direct consequence, somebody died.

I really and honestly would hope that if I did make an error, and that somebody died because of it, that I would be able to put my hand up and say, "Its a fair cop." I would expect the same of anyone else.

Well she did didn't she? She pleaded guilty.

Avatar
brooksby replied to oozaveared | 10 years ago
0 likes
oozaveared wrote:

Well she did didn't she? She pleaded guilty.

Sorry, may have had a foot/mouth intersection there. My post was picking on the "don't blame her cos it could happen to anyone" school of thought. I actually think that it is pretty brave to plead guilty. It so rarely happens.

Avatar
cisgil23 | 10 years ago
0 likes

When are we going to get the possibility to mark a comment "dislike", and not just the "like" choice.
I'm thinking of the comment by " truffy".
It's heartless, and malicious.

Avatar
kie7077 replied to cisgil23 | 10 years ago
0 likes
cisgil23 wrote:

When are we going to get the possibility to mark a comment "dislike", and not just the "like" choice.
I'm thinking of the comment by " truffy".
It's heartless, and malicious.

It is better to debate rationally, down-voting is a bad system according to the boffins:
negative feedback leads to behavioral changes that are hugely detrimental to the community

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clayfit replied to kie7077 | 10 years ago
0 likes

thanks for the article in the link. Summary: ignore the trolls and they are less likely to post.

Avatar
Argos74 | 10 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

“I’m very, very sorry. It was an accident.

No. It wasn't. It was negligence.

Quote:

I have got to live with this as well.”

Nice to have that choice, isn't it?

Avatar
Das | 10 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

Mrs Hamilton told the Liverpool Echo: “It’s been absolutely devastating. I am so disgusted with the way these sorts of deaths are trivialised with very minor charges.

Well no one here is likely to disagree with that statement.

Avatar
truffy | 10 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

He did wear a helmet on longer routes but not shorter ones

So presumably he saw the value of wearing a helmet, but just didn't bother on this occasion. It may not have saved his life, but it may have done. Contributory negligence IMO.
<dons flameproof undergarments/>

Avatar
jacknorell replied to truffy | 10 years ago
0 likes
truffy wrote:
Quote:

He did wear a helmet on longer routes but not shorter ones

So presumably he saw the value of wearing a helmet, but just didn't bother on this occasion. It may not have saved his life, but it may have done. Contributory negligence IMO.
<dons flameproof undergarments/>

Stop trolling.

Avatar
seven | 10 years ago
0 likes

I wonder what would've happened if it had been a pedestrian flinging a lump of metal which was merely the same shape and size as a car door onto the road, causing a motorist to swerve/crash and die?

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Northernbike replied to seven | 10 years ago
0 likes
seven wrote:

I wonder what would've happened if it had been a pedestrian flinging a lump of metal which was merely the same shape and size as a car door onto the road, causing a motorist to swerve/crash and die?

A young lad got three years in jail recently for throwing stuff from a road bridge over the A1. He did hit a lorry but nobody was badly hurt fortunately http://tinyurl.com/plvygln

Avatar
Binky | 10 years ago
0 likes

Could the widow take out a civil case against the woman? Would her chances be any good at winning?

I have known this to happen twice where a cyclist died from a incident like this and the driver only got fined.

A cyclist life has very little worth on the roads.

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zanf | 10 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

Jackson, representing herself, told the court: “I’m very, very sorry. It was an accident. I have got to live with this as well.”

It wasnt an 'accident'. It was a clear case of negligence caused but utter incompetence. She can whine all she likes but at least she got to live.

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