A smug biker who ran over a 13-year-old child at a red light while doing a wheelie was let go from court after the judge found that he had shown “real sorrow.”
Robert Andrews, 25, struck the youngster as he was making his way home from school in Wigan after failing to see the stop sign while balancing his bike on one wheel and hitting him with life-threatening injuries.
The young man, a gifted golfer, had injuries so severe that medical professionals had to remove his spleen. Since then, he has been unable to play his favorite sport for a whole round.
In order to lessen the likelihood of infection, he will also need to take antibiotics for the remainder of his life.
Andrews, a trainee joiner from Hindley Green, close to Wigan, Greater Manchester, originally cycled by to see how the youngster was doing before leaving. When he was located, he attempted to lay the responsibility for the collision on the youngster, claiming that he had stepped out in front of him.
Both before and after the collision, witnesses saw him doing wheelies further up the road. Andrews was reportedly seen ‘propelling himself forward’ by clinging onto the back of a bus.
On March 15, 2021, at 3:35 pm, the event took place when the victim off a bus close to the intersection of Lily Lane and Warrington Road in Wigan.
Andrews pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court to an offense under the Offenses Against Persons Act of 1861 that included inflicting physical injury via reckless or wanton driving. He received a 12-month jail term with a 12-month suspension.
Also, he had to comply with a four-month curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and 250 hours of unpaid labour.
The now 15-year-old youngster and his parents attended the hearing in court.
The youngster told authorities that while crossing the street, he was struck by a pedal bicycle rider who was performing a wheelie. I was stunned by what transpired after being struck by the bike.
I can still recall having side discomfort. I can very clearly recall feeling irritated and worried due to my hyperventilation. I had never experienced this before.
“When I went home, my agony persisted. My mother called 101, and they told me to go to the hospital. I went to the hospital, where I was kept and given orders for various scans. I fainted during the X-ray because my blood pressure was extremely low.
“The doctor warned me that if the damage wasn’t fixed, it may be fatal.” I was bleeding out too much. Apparently, I need immediate surgery. While I was initially supposed to travel to Manchester Children’s Hospital, my health wasn’t stable enough for me to do so.
“At first, I was in denial. I attempted to maintain my composure since I could tell that my mother was becoming angry. I questioned the doctor in an effort to make sense of what was occurring.
I was kept in the room alone because of Covid, he continued. I remained there for a day before being moved.
“I was informed that my spleen was removed because it could not be healed due to the severity of the damage. I was informed at Manchester Children’s Hospital that I may have maintained my spleen if I had been relocated sooner. The Wigan Hospital, however, tried its best.
“I was taught about the long-term effects and that the spleen cleans the blood and guards against infection,” the patient recalls.
I will need to take antibiotics for the rest of my life, twice a day. When I am evaluated again, that could change, but if it doesn’t, I will need to take antibiotics every day.
The adolescent said, “I couldn’t play my favorite leisure activity for two months, and when I did play, I couldn’t play a whole game.”
He also said that he had to go back to school gradually, only enrolling full-time in June 2021. He further clarified that he had to avoid being hit by other students and was not permitted to participate in physical education.
I’m hesitant to cross the street for fear of being struck by a car or another bike, he remarked.
Whenever I cross a pedestrian crossing, I always double check. I feel more alert of cars than I did before. I often worry that a car may come up from behind and strike me.
The defendant was seen doing wheelies just before to the crash, and at one point, witnesses said they saw him hanging onto the rear of a bus, according to prosecutor Juliet Berry.
Witnesses also witnessed the defendant continue to do wheelies after the crash. Interview with the defendant took place on April 12. He admitted that he had bumped with the victim during the questioning. Despite the wheelies, he said he was a skilled, responsible rider as he tried to understand how his activities had resulted in such a terrible injury.
Clare Ashcroft, Andrews’ attorney, offered the following explanation as a mitigating factor: “There was possibly a sense of complacency since he did not think about the effect on other road users while he was riding in the way that was acceptable.
Mr. Andrews apologized to the victim and it was a sincere apology. Despite the fact that it has been a while and he feels regret, Mr. Andrews is still unable to grasp the gravity of what transpired. Of sure, he is guilty of it. He has learned a very difficult but necessary lesson.
“You definitely meant to go through the red light while executing a wheelie and you were performing a wheelie right up to the moment of impact with the victim,” Judge Tom Gilbart said while handing down Andrews’ punishment.
Traveling in such manner was conceited and stupid. The fact that the road was congested with schoolchildren obviously visible on each side of the road and not only with vehicles was evident, or should have been obvious to you.
“You crashed your bike into the victim. You chatted to the sufferer, inquired about his well-being, and then rode away. The fact that you continued to wheelie after it is rather alarming. You attempted to put the responsibility on the victim when you claimed that he shouldn’t have been crossing.
“You purposefully disregarded the traffic laws; it was a premeditated action that caused a completely needless harm to a youngster who was just trying to cross the street.” After hearing the victim impact statement, no one could not be affected. None of these things that occurred to the victim were fair to him.
“I acknowledge these events have had a positive impact on you,” the judge said, “and you have avoided difficulty for two years.”
You acknowledge that your riding was reckless, you explain your horror at the severity of the injuries, and you have apologized. You’re still very young, and I see that there is genuine regret in this instance.
The government is presently considering enacting a legislation that would subject bike riders found guilty of causing death by risky riding to the same penalties as drivers found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, which carries a potential sentence of life in prison.
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