[I’ve noticed more and more that journalists use that weasel term “clipped” to describe drivers smashing into a cyclist.]
Ryles then drove off, leaving his victim lying in the road.
North Staffordshire Magistrates Court heard Steven Birks suffered a number of injuries including a broken collar bone, broken ribs and a punctured lung.
And the punishment for this driver?
He was banned from driving for three and a half years and given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
No fine mentioned. Free to breeze out of court.
Meanwhile in York:
Police were today hunting the occupants of a van which knocked down and killed a 10-year-old boy.
Sean Hamilton was struck by a blue transit van as he made his way home on Saturday evening. As he lay dying in the middle of the road the driver of the van and his passengers ran off.
Even if the driver is caught and successfully prosecuted, the hit and run killer’s right to drive will be upheld by our judicial system and the killer will be back behind the wheel of a vehicle within ten years, probably less. And Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the Association of Chief Police Officers are all committed to the perpetuation of this state of affairs.
