Porsche driver broke skull of man riding Boris bike on her way to Harvey Nichols

A Chelsea motorist who hit a cyclist and broke his skull has been fined £5,000 and had six points put on her licence after being found guilty of careless driving. Marianna Papachristophorou, 47, was travelling from her £5m home to Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge when she hit Jason Tann, who was riding a Santander hire bike.

The London Evening Standard reports that the incident occurred near Cadogan Square at about 7.30pm on May 22 last year.

Property investor Papachristophorou, driving a Porsche 4x4, entered a roundabout and hit Tann, who was sent four metres into the air.

The court heard the cyclist suffered three seizures in the 24 hours after the crash and cannot remember the incident. He suffered brain injuries and a fractured skull but has now made a full recovery. 

Papachristophorou denied careless driving and said she checked that the road was clear.

“It came out of nowhere. I realised within seconds it was a man,” she said, adding that she feared Tann had gone under the wheels of her vehicle.

“The defendant did make observations prior to entering that roundabout as she claims, but sadly sometimes people miss things,” said Deputy District Judge Adrian Turner.

“The only conclusion I can come to is that I’m sure beyond reasonable doubt there was a lack of care on that day in failing to observe Mr Tann approaching the roundabout and coming on to it and then failing to take action.”

Papachristophorou was also ordered to pay £795 in costs and court fees and may face civil proceedings in the future.