A judge has said that a private prosecution of a motorist for allegedly causing the death by careless driving of London cyclist Michael Mason can proceed.
Mr Mason, also known as Mick, died in hospital in March 2014, nearly three weeks after the collision on Regent Street involving a Nissan Juke driven by 58-year-old Gail Purcell of St Albans, Hertfordshire.
The 70-year-old, a teacher at Westminster’s Grey Coat Hospital girls’ school, sustained “severe traumatic brain injury” as a result of the crash.
The private prosecution has been brought on behalf of Mr Mason’s family by the Cyclists’ Defence Fund (CDF), the first such action it has instigated.
It was launched after the Metropolitan Police Service decided not to press charges, and is funded by donations from the public which have reached almost £64,000 made through the website Just Giving.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, Ms Purcell pleaded not guilty to the charge, reports the London Evening Standard’s Ross Lydall.
District judge Kenneth Grant gave the go-ahead for the private prosecution, but said the seriousness of the offence meant it could not be heard at magistrates’ court.
Instead, the case, which has been adjourned until 11 October, will be tried at Southwark Crown Court.
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Let's hope he doesn't read Road CC, the amount of articles they write putting a downer on him.
Only reading the headline on the homepage, not the rest of the article, but I only ride mountain bikes and I still get close passed...
Fair enough, personal experience may trump (not that one) theory. However, the bonking I have experienced has been due to lack of carbs. Your point...
Agreed, but he was still right to publicise the event. The police, if they're anything like Lancashire, will do nothing at all.
mdavidfrodo?
How can anybody reject the beauty of that? It's a wonderful mix of modern tech yet absolutely functional.
Not unless theVED is made eye wateringly expensive....
in the UK we have policing which to a greater or lesser extent relies on assistance from members of the public......
Just wanted to share a quick thank you to everyone who helped out in this thread....
So...don't cycle on it. Lots of other routes around that area. Source: I used to work there.