Court Driver hit biker as he fiddled with loose shoe
ADRIVER’S momentary lapse of attention left a motorcyclist with serious, life-changing injuries.
Craig Scragg was driving to work when he cut across the road into the path of motorcyclist Thomas Long.
Bristol Crown Court heard Mr Long was thrown from his machine and seriously injured.
Scragg drove off – and was heard on the telephone telling a friend: “I’ve hit someone”.
Police found his damaged car, put a note through his door and he handed himself in.
When interviewed, however, he said he gave a prepared statement saying he had been attending to a loose shoe, his wing mirror smashed and he thought he had clipped a parked car.
Scragg, 35, of Downend Road in Kingswood, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving on December 4 last year, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.
The court heard he had previous convictions for careless driving and driving with excess alcohol.
Judge Anna Richardson jailed him for 24 months.
She told Scragg: “The injuries were life-threatening and life-changing.
“In his first victim impact statement he (Mr Long) said that his life had been destroyed.”
Scragg was banned from driving for four years and told to take an extended driving test.
Nicholas Lee, prosecuting, said plumber Mr Long was riding to work on Wedmore Vale when, at the Marksbury Road junction, Scragg drove on the wrong side of the road and knocked him from his machine. The court heard how people came to his aid and an ambulance was called. In the meantime Scragg had driven on in his Vauxhall Astra and witnesses told how they saw the car with a flat tyre and heard him on a mobile phone saying he had hit someone, his car was written off and he needed picking up as soon as possible.
Police received a note of the car’s registration number as well as dashcam footage of the collision from the public, the court heard.
On December 9 police pushed a note through Scragg’s door and Scragg called police saying he believed he may have “hit someone or something” as he was trying to retrieve a shoe that came off.
He said he had panicked and driven off, but he had seen social media posts about the incident and decided to contact police.
When interviewed he gave a prepared statement saying he hadn’t seen another vehicle and suspected he hit a parked car.
Mr Long suffered multiple leg fractures, wounds and tissue loss and underwent five operations, reconstructive surgery and tissue transplants.
He was left “broken”, with his life ruined and suffering both the pain of the ordeal as well as a fear of hospitals and doctors when undergoing treatment.
He was left wheelchair-bound and is still suffering mobility issues.
Mr Long stated: “I am still alive but only existing. My liberty has been taken from me. I don’t want to be a victim.”
Emily Heggadon, defending, said Scragg offered his sincere apologies to Mr Long.
“It is sincerely meant, he is thoroughly ashamed of his behaviour and he has expressed genuine remorse.”