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Statue of Justice, Old Bailey (licensed CC BY 2.0 on Flickr by Ronnie Macdonald).jpgLincolnshire motorist jailed for hitting cyclist and then trying to hide fact he'd been drinking by doing more drinking
A Lincolnshire motorist has been jailed for two years after he struck a cyclist, leaving him seriously injured, then fled the scene and tried to conceal the fact that he had been drunk at the time of the collision by continuing to drink.
Robert Foster, aged 49 and from Stamford, pleaded guilty at Lincoln Crown Court to driving a motor vehicle while over the legal limit for alcohol, causing serious injury through dangerous driving and failure to stop, reports Peterborough Today. He was also banned from driving for four years.
He had fled the scene of the crash, which happened at around 8.30pm on the evening of 10 September 2016, in his BMW and returned home. Police subsequently searched the area for a car showing signs of damage and discovered the vehicle outside his house, where Foster admitted he was the driver involved.
The victim, a sergeant with Leicestershire Police, sustained multiple injuries including a broken leg and wrist which have left him unable to carry out front-line duties.
Following the court case, he said: “As a police officer it is important to me that the judicial system is seen to be effective, and in this case it was.
“I would like to thank the local police in Stamford for their tenacity and quick detective work without which Foster could have been undetected until he had sobered up.
“The four-year driving ban keeps a dangerous individual with an alcohol problem off the roads,” he added.
Sarah Capes, from Lincolnshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Team, said: “Officers successfully located this offender in the surrounding area of Stamford within hours of him leaving the scene of a serious RTC.
“This is an excellent example of the proactive policing we follow. The victim in this case was seriously injured as a result of this incident, and has thanked officers for their help and support in this investigation. We hope that he can now move forward knowing that the offender has had to face the consequences of his actions.”
She added: “This offender was careless, dangerous and tried to cover up his intoxication by drinking after the collision, and we hope that this sentence can be seen as a deterrent for the future.”
One of the officers who discovered the vehicle, PC Stephen Robinson, said: “When we located the car suspected to be involved in the RTC, the offender immediately identified himself as the driver of the vehicle.
“Myself and PC Morris found an empty bottle of wine and a glass tumbler at the address, which were both seized, and we immediately recognized this offender was intoxicated.
“While this was happening, PC Spencer-Kidd remained with the victim to provide reassurance, until he was taken to hospital.
“At the station, Foster blew 104mg in a breath test, which is three times over the limit. It was then calculated that the offender would have been just over double the limit at the time of the incident.
“This offender was arrested, and we hope the victim can now move forward with his life.”
Sentencing Foster, Judge Simon Hirst said: “You left him on the floor, you left part of your vehicle on the floor and you drove off.
“There is no doubt you were substantially over the proscribed limit at the time of the collision.
“There is no doubt in my judgement you, knowing you had hit a cyclist, tried to avoid responsibility, first by leaving the scene and then by drinking alcohol to cover up your earlier drinking.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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29 comments
I passed not far from the incident scene not too many hours before.
I've already made an official complaint to the BBC about its wording of their news item which clearly places the blame of the incident on the injured cyclists use "collided with" the VW , it's EXACTLY the same wording as the lazy cunts at Lincslive.
They changed the wording of the original police statement which reads
"Original release:
Four cyclists have been seriously injured in a collision with a VW Scirocco on the A15 at Ashby De La Launde at 2.25am this morning (Sunday 10th September)."
Subtly different but still not ideal. They should use a 'collision between' which is far more neutral, unless they have evidence already in which case they should amend to state the VW collided with the cyclists, given the arrest on DD it's very likely this is the actual scenario so why are media outlets always writing articles inferring blame?
I don't get why the ban is only four years? Driving under the influence and hitting someone, ok maybe that would be worth four years, but then leaving the scene and trying to hide the evidence by drinking, that should be at least ten years banned, if not a lifetime ban, he clearly can't be trusted with a vehicle, it isn't just an accident or carelessness. If the potential punishments were much higher maybe people would think a little more about their actions.
Lets hope the local Police investigate the incident which left 4 cyclists in hospital over the weekend whilst doing the Flatlands 600 in Lincolnshire with as much vigour.
http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/serious-crash-closes-s...
Get well soon all those injuried.
Probably best not to shout too loud about that one. From the report;
"Police said the cyclists collided with a VW Scirocco on the A15 at Ashby De La Launde at 2.25am this morning, Sunday, September 10."
So pretty clear who was at fault, I expect that another cyclist somewhere around Lincoln had probably jumped a red light recently or cycled on a footpath and well, all cyclists are basically lycra clad road hooligans and all that.
Nope, just standard group policy to blame cyclists by the the newspaper employee's. Car drivers are never to blame no matter what happens even when found guilty in court, it's always the cars fault.
There is one comment at the bottom of this story.
And it's a good one.
No mention if the victim was wearing a helmet. Seems strange.
surely he must have been wearing a police helmet.
I read the headline. Wow, a decent sentence for once.
Got to this line:
"The victim, a sergeant with Leicestershire Police"
And it all made sense!
Cyclist "I've been knocked off by a driver who didn't stop"
Police "Thanks for calling, here's your crime number"
Cyclist "I'm a policeman"
Police "We'll be there in two minutes"
I think we all know why it was 'rigorously' investigated? If it had been anyone else?
After reading this it is apparent that the cycling community needs to be more dynamic. We should encourage every cyclist to apply to become a special constable, a voluntary police officer. This case could then be quoted as reason for wanting to join. After a few hundred applications have been made on this basis, the police may then start to realise what the cycling comunity expect; apply the same vigour and enthusiasm to all.
I like your thinking: if you can't beat them, join them and change them from within.
Or they could consider two tier policing a valid recruitment tactic.
“This is an excellent example of the proactive policing we follow."
But they missed out the most important bit "when it's a policeman who is knocked off."
Obviously we can all be grateful that this alcoholic is off the roads for some time, but as others have mentioned, would they have been quite so conscientious if it was Joe Bloggs?
EDIT: just noticed how appropriate the number of my posts is for this subject.
An excellent example is not necessarily a typical example. Although to be fair they did also recently catch a hit and run involving 4 cyclists and a vw scirocco on the a15
So in order to get any form of justice you have to be a copper?
A four year driving ban for an alcoholic does not seem realistic or rational.
Seems fine to me. Why do you think it's irrational and unrealistic?
If it wasn't a policeman he hit I doubt they would have searched so hard for the car
There was no mention of the cyclist being partially at fault, as we usually get. No mention that the cyclist should have been wearing high vis stuff, should have had a bell, and could have taken a longer route that used more cycle ways. No cautionary message that cyclists need to take care when on the roads.
Still, glad the drink driving twat is getting punnished (although his attempt to avoid justice shoudl have resulted in a lifetime driving ban. The guy is old enough to know what he's doing is wrong). Glad the police have experienced how easy it is to catch and convict someone too. Maybe they'll try it again when they come across the next knocked down cyclist.
+1
"This is an excellent example of the proactive policing we follow"
Is it?
Indeed. Or maybe just doing their jobs properly?
Surely this is reactive policing; waiting until an offence has been committed and then seeking out the perpetrator. Proactive policing would be picking him up before he'd been able to run someone over, perhaps by sending out traffic patrols to identify and pull over bad drivers.
Reactive surely?
Good result, but one can't help wonder the effect of the victim's employment on the rigour of the investigation and subsequent prosecution and perhaps even sentencing.
When I read this: "Police subsequently searched the area for a car showing signs of damage and discovered the vehicle outside his house, where Foster admitted he was the driver involved." I couldn't help thinking it unusual for the police to go to such lengths to identify a hit and run driver. I'm sure they try but I've never before heard of them searching the immediate area.
Then I read: "The victim, a sergeant with Leicestershire Police..." and it all made sense.
as soon as I read it, I thought exactly the same. Would the police had been so vociferous had it been one of the public. I think not.