Woman who used turbo charged 4x4 as a ‘weapon’ and ran it into autistic cyclist jailed for three years

Quite interesting clicking through to the previous article and reading "Bishop"'s comments.

Additionally, the previous conviction isn't even as "tame" as the story suggests. She was found driving on the wrong side of the road by police, didn't stop when lit up and had a 60mph chase in the streets of Brixton before being arrested.

Quote:

FWIW, I'm losing my affection for  the 2015 road.cc. Too many listicles and sensationalist headlines like this one for my taste. Time to see what else is out there methinks

I agree, it's a getting a bit tired and a bit too Daily Mail

Here's a question:

This incident happened during the day, in a town, with lots of witnesses and resulted in serious damage to other property. Also the fact that the cyclist was on the autistic spectrum is often mentioned.

If it were a lone rider - or a small group from a club - and there was no damage to property apart from maybe a dent in a hedge, do you think it would even have seen the inside of a court?

She should swing from the end of a rope.

No insurance company is going to be interested in giving her cover after this.

Well done Judge.

'Three year jail term for using car as weapon' would do nicely

4x4: irrelevant

turbocharged: irrelevant

woman driving: irrelevant

autistic victim: irrelevant

cyclist: irrelevant

Although the last one is arguable given this is a cycling website.

I am truly and genuinely gobsmacked! I honestly thought she would only get an 18 month revocation of licence and a 1 year suspended sentence.

I know we all wanted at least 5 years inside and a lifetime revocation but  most importantly we have the conviction for "deliberately using a car as a weapon". A precedent has been set and I'll take that as a result and open a bottle of Cava in celebration.

Cheers

The three-year sentence seems fair enough but like the Baltimore (US) case the inane driving ban is just ridiculous. 

Jail time notwhistanding, driving privileges should be permanently revoked for this type of thing. I'm sorry, but if you actually actively tried to kill someone innocently riding away from you and ended up endagering a whole host of other people while doing so then no more driving for you. Get yourself on some other means of transport (really not that difficult around London) or just Uber it from now on.

Looking at the evidence in the article, really should never be allowed behind the wheel again.

Agree with "flobble", the headline is sensationalized. What relevance does the vehicle being "turbo charged" have?

Quote:

“I have given considerable consideration to your circumstances,” she said. “You deliberately used your car as a weapon.”

Finally - someone finally gets done for this. I hope it sets a precedent.

(And I know others have said this but it bears repeating: how on earth does someone who was "convicted ... for drunkenly driving at more than 70mph on the wrong side of the road" manage to get insurance to drive a Chelsea tank like the one she used to demolish the hairdresser's???)

1. How in hell was she even able to obtain insurance on an Audi Q7 with that previous driving record?

2. I trust that her insurance company are seeking to recover their losses from her. I don't see why the insurer's other policy holders or shareholders should lose a single penny given her criminal conviction for the incident.

"turbo charged 4x4" = sensationalism

The vast majority of 4x4s are turbo charged, beacause they mostly have diesel engines which are mostly turbo-charged. It's a bit like writing "4-wheeled 4x4", or "two-wheeled cycle", or "ad revenue motivated website"

FWIW, I'm losing my affection for  the 2015 road.cc. Too many listicles and sensationalist headlines like this one for my taste. Time to see what else is out there methinks.

She will be a changed woman after she has been in a few months

From the linked Surrey Comet article
"The court also heard Pyne had previous driving-related convictions.

In March 2009 she was convicted of dangerous driving for drunkenly driving at more than 70mph on the wrong side of the road in the January of that year. She was disqualified from driving for 12 months and given a suspended sentence at the time, the court heard.

Defence counsel Lisa Bald called for a “justifiable act of mercy” and described the case as a “flash of anger that happened in seconds”.

She added: “She is not a woman prone to aggressive outbursts, she is not that type of person and this wasn’t an act of violence.”

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Pyne was also banned from driving for four years"

So she has previous driving offences, attempted GBH with a car, and she still only gets four years driving ban. What do you have to do to get a lifetime ban?

>During the sentencing hearing prosecutor Nicholas Cooper recounted a witness who had described Mr Edgely mounting a curb away from the car, before it drove towards him and “carried him into a shop window” by the bonnet.

So she ran him over after he went off the road to get away from her. The police originally wanted attempted murder but the CPS said it wouldn't stick, so they aimed for the lesser charge of attempted GBH, hence only three years, out in eighteen months. She'll be back on the road straight away anyway, a ban won't stop her.