Cyclist suffered life-changing injuries when wagon hit his bike

In an emotional statement read to Bradford Crown Court, the victim said he had contemplated suicide after the accident on March 29 last year, which had left him in constant pain from multiple injuries.

Wagon driver James Templeton, 66, of Trough Lane, Denholme, was handed a four-month jail sentence suspended for two years by Her Honour Judge Sophie McKone who told him: “[The victim’s life] and the life of his wife have become unrecognisable.”

Prosecutor Beatrice Allsop told the court witnesses saw Templeton’s Volvo HGV approach the cyclist at around 3pm on the day of the accident on the A629 Halifax Road at Cullingworth in the direction of Denholme.

One said Templeton did not give the cyclist enough room and saw the victim “fire off into the bushes and him rolling down the road” as the wagon struck him.

A second witness saw the victim “fly into the air and then hit the floor. The wagon was driving too close to the kerb and there would have been no room for the cyclist.”

A witness who called 999 was approached by Templeton, who had stopped his wagon further down the road, and who said, “I just clipped him.”

The cyclist told police that he was struggling to breathe, had pain in his neck and thought it was broken. He said he remembered cycling on the road “and the next thing he was on the floor”.

There was a trail of broken glass between his damaged bike and where he was laid in a lay-by. The Volvo wagon was found to have a cracked windscreen, nearside bumper damage, and a cracked nearside headlight.

Part of a light from the bike was seen on the wagon’s bumper.

The victim was taken by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary where he was found to have suffered multiple injuries including fractures to his skull, pelvis, back, neck, shoulder blade, and hip as well as several broken ribs and a punctured lung.

He was later transferred to the spinal injuries unit at Pinderfields, in Wakefield, where he remained for six months.

Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield (Image: T&A)

He underwent surgery including having rods and screws inserted in his neck.

Templeton admitted seeing the cyclist in his hi-vis clothing and hitting him during interviews with police. He said he misjudged the overtake as other lorries were approaching him on the other side of the road and he could not cross the white line.

Miss Allsop said: “He thought that he was past the cyclist but heard a bang and could not see him. He says he thought the cyclist was off the road on the verge and must have jumped out in front of him.”

He later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless/inconsiderate driving.

In his statement the victim said the collision – of which he had no memory - had damaged his spinal cord and changed his life forever.

He was left constantly exhausted, suffered painful spasms, endured memory loss, had had to give up work, and required the lifelong assistance of his wife for even the simplest tasks including using the toilet, which he said was “degrading”.

He said: “I contemplated suicide on a number of occasions because I felt useless and couldn’t understand why it happened to me.”

He now needs a wheelchair to get out and is intending moving house to a specially adapted home.

He said: “The collision has had a huge impact on my life. I was a hard-working man and all my independence has been taken away from me. I will never be the same again as a result of the driver’s actions.”

Mitigating, Darren Finnegan said Templeton was “a man of exemplary character” who had carried out a “careless manoeuvre”.

He said: “In attempting to pass [the victim] in what ought to have been a very simple manoeuvre, Mr Templeton miscalculated terribly and misjudged the manoeuvre with tragic consequences.”

He said Templeton, who had a history of heart problems, had suffered a minor stroke due to the stress of the incident, for which he was “profoundly remorseful”.

He has not renewed his HGV licence since the accident.

Judge McKone said: “There was not enough room for you to go past [the victim] safely and there were other large vehicles coming in the opposite direction. As a result of that you knocked him off his bike.

“He suffered significant injury.

“He went from a hard-working, independent man to someone who is now completely dependent on his wife to meet his most basic needs and is also dependent on medication.”

Referencing sentencing guidelines she said: “That [four-month] sentence would seem, no doubt to [the victims], totally and utterly inadequate to reflect what they have suffered and what they will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives, but I have to follow the sentencing guidelines.

“No sentence I pass will assist them rebuilding their lives.”

Templeton was also banned from driving for 12 months, placed on a 7pm to 6am curfew for a period of six months, and ordered to pay costs of £150.

No compensation order was made as civil proceedings are ongoing.