A motorist who “charged” through a mini-roundabout and failed to give way, hitting a cyclist and leaving her with several broken bones and a collapsed lung, has been allowed to keep his licence after initially denying causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
28-year-old Patrycja Gutowska was riding her bike on Crieff Road in Perth at around 8.30am on 5 April 2022 when she was struck at a roundabout by motorist David Knight, who failed to brake when approaching the junction and later admitting entering it when he had no right of way.
According to CCTV footage secured by the police from a shop overlooking where the crash took place, and played to jurors at Perth Sheriff Court this week, Knight – driving a Renault Kadjar – can be seen travelling west along Crieff Road, before “charging” through the mini-roundabout, as Ms Gutowska entered the junction from Feus Road.
In the video, Knight then collides with the cyclist on the roundabout, before slamming on the brakes. It was also alleged in court that the motorist then reversed his car while Ms Gutowska was lying stricken underneath it.
Crieff Road, Perth (credit: Google Maps)
The 28-year-old cyclist was rushed to Perth Royal Infirmary with fractures to her sternum and pelvis, as well as bruised and collapsed lungs, the Dundee Courier reports.
Ms Gutowska also suffered a large scalp wound in the crash, which required staples to be closed by a plastic surgery team, and was forced to wear a Miami J collar, designed to limit movement and support her neck, for 12 weeks after the incident.
The court also heard that, after being discharged from hospital 10 days later, she had to use crutches for some time and underwent months of physiotherapy.
> “Inattentive” driver with “comprehensive loss of concentration” who drove on wrong side of the road and killed cyclist jailed for two years
In the wake of the incident, Knight was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, a charge he denied.
However, one day into his trial at Perth Sheriff Court, prosecutors accepted a guilty plea from the 56-year-old concerning the lesser, amended charge of careless driving.
Following this guilty plea, Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC fined Knight £600 and imposed six penalty points on his licence – meaning he is free to continue driving.
> Police say penalty points “will not do anything to correct poor driving habits” of motorist who hit cyclist after pulling across “to speak with her daughter on the phone”
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen judges conclude that penalty points and a fine are sufficient punishment for apparently careless driving – even following incidents which could have had catastrophic consequences.
In October 2023, a motorist in Somerset similarly accepted six penalty points, a £480 fine, and a victim surcharge totalling £277 for driving “without due care”, after losing control on a bend and almost smashing into a cyclist and another vehicle, having rounded the corner on the verge on the wrong side of the road.
Driver fined for "driving without due care" over incident that almost saw cyclist hit (Avon & Somerset Police) (credit: road.cc)
A number of cyclists, in response to Avon and Somerset Police’s social media post advertising the sentencing, criticised the “pathetically weak” punishment, while the rider involved in the harrowing incident, Steve Western, argued that he was “not sure driving without due care was appropriate for that incident, which could have ended so differently”.
> Cyclist who swerved to avoid out-of-control driver questions if £500 fine for "driving without due care" an "appropriate" punishment
“Surely, due care is failing to look properly at a junction causing someone else to have to brake, or maybe close passing a cyclist at a moderate 1-1.5m distance,” added Robin Pickering.
“That looks like clear S2 RTA: driving which falls ‘far below the expected standard’ and which could easily have had fatal consequences. Why the downgrade?”
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5 comments
One really has to wonder how long this sort of "justice'' goes on before some seriously injured cyclist upon recovery buys a big junker of a truck and goes on the hunt for the person who ran her/him down. The criminal justice systems fails people only so long before a victim, sadly, decides to take matters into her/his own hands.
Institutionally anti-cyclist procurator fiscal. And sheriff
Even if they accepted a plea one level down, to "causing serious injury by careless driving" it would have alolowed consideration of a wider range of sentencing.....
How on earth can the charge go from causing serious injury by dangerous driving, to Careless Driving!!!!!! FFS her injuries were fractures to her sternum and pelvis, as well as bruised and collapsed lungs. The PF needs to be taken to task over this, that's disgusting to accept a plea of careless driving. Also I am sick to the back teeth of this cop out of being able to change a plea during the trial, this needs to stop.
In this case you should not blame the judge, but the prosecutors.
The judge can only sentence according to the sentencing guidelines for the offense.
It was the prosecution that chose to accept the guilty plea to the lesser offence.
For them it will go down on their stats as successful prosecution, free them up to work on other cases and avoids the risk of failing to secure a prosecution for the more serious offense for which the criteria are highly subjective and there is a real possibility that the offender would have been found not guilty.