A cyclist was thrown 140 feet in front of his young children and suffered severe injuries when one of two drivers who were driving at 100 mph and treating the road “like a racetrack” were arrested.
Thomas Watt was riding a family bike when Jacob Reginald Titt, 23, and Thomas Lycett, 21, were driving in a “competitive manner” on Hampshire’s Salisbury Road at 40 mph. Watt had a fractured neck and collapsed lung as a result.
Titt was traveling so quickly in his Skoda Fabia vRS when he slammed into Mr. Watt, sending the cyclist flying and landing 140 feet away while his wife and two small girls gasped in fear.
He was taken by ambulance to Southampton General Hospital in Hampshire, where he received life-altering medical care for fractures to his ankle, ribs, shoulder, and two neck vertebrae. He also had a collapsed lung in addition to other serious injuries.
One witness said the cars were moving’much faster’ than she had ever seen a car on that route, and CCTV showed them ‘flashing past’ as they were traveling at high speeds.
At Southampton Crown Court, Titt and Lycett both entered pleas of guilty to inflicting severe harm through reckless driving.
Titt, of Ringwood, Hampshire, received an 18-month prison sentence and a three-year, nine-month driving ban.
Lycett, of Totton, Hampshire, received a 14-month prison sentence and a three-year, seven-month driving ban.
According to testimony given in court, Mr. Watt was riding on Salisbury Road in Totton, close to Southampton, on October 11, 2020, with his wife and two kids.
Titt’s automobile “ploughed” into the bike of the independent gardener as the two drivers were driving in a “competitive spirit,” according to prosecutor Tim Naik, who testified in court.
It was a miracle that I was the only one hurt, Mr. Watt, 45, said in a statement that was read out by Mr. Naik on his behalf. I was in excruciating agony.
“The physical affects have been really difficult for me to handle.” I have to endure agony that I have never experienced before.
Simple tasks have become more difficult. Despite not being where I was before to the crash, I have returned to work.
Titt and Lycett were traveling at such high speeds, according to Detective Constable Mark Furse of the Roads Policing Unit, that it was a miracle no one was killed. The fact that none of the kids was hit by either vehicle further was sheer chance.
Mr. Watt will now have to put up with the harm that their careless and self-centered acts brought about.
This incident serves as a reminder of the risks presented by young, inexperienced drivers who choose to drive aggressively and beyond their limits on the road. All drivers are subject to the laws of the road, which are there for a purpose.
While Titt’s silver Fabia vRS 1.9 had a peak speed of 128mph, Lycett’s white BMW M1351L could attain speeds of 155 mph and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than five seconds.