Angry driver in court after cyclist badly hurt
A WOMAN who left a cyclist with a fractured knee after veering into him as she prepared to hurl abuse at him from her car has walked free from court.
Aimee Baty was driving in Newcastle city centre when she cut up Matthew Smith, forcing him towards the kerb and causing him annoyance, a court heard.
When Mr Smith put his hand on Baty’s VW Polo and asked what she thought she was doing, she saw red.
A court heard she ended up opening her window and leaning across, intending to shout abuse at him, and her car “inadvertently” hit him, knocking him off his bike.
The cyclist suffered a fractured knee and spent two weeks in the RVI after the accident on City Road, near Barclays, on December 21 2017.
Baty, 33, was cleared by a jury of causing serious injury by dangerous driving but was convicted of careless driving and pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident after fleeing the scene.
Now she has been ordered to do unpaid work as part of a community order and was given penalty points which will result in her being disqualified. A judge rejected her argument that a ban would cause her multiple sclerosis-suffering friend hardship as she relies on Baty for lifts to the hospital.
Judge Penny Moreland, at Newcastle Crown Court, told Baty: “I’m satisfied on the approach to traffic lights you moved your vehicle from the right to the left-hand carriageway to avoid another vehicle which intended to turn right.
“You had not noticed Mr Smith in the left carriageway, so that manoeuvre forced him to the left towards the kerb.
“He shouted ‘what do you think you are doing?’ and put his hand out against your car.
“That made you cross and you pulled your car across his lane in the junction just past the traffic lights and braked sharply, causing him to stop.
“You drove off and were still cross. You came alongside him and decided to shout abuse at him.
“The jury’s verdict means they couldn’t be sure you deliberately drove into him, but you did drive too close to him as a consequence of opening the window and leaning across, intending to hurl abuse at him as you were still annoyed at what you believed was his bad behaviour.”
Baty had claimed during her trial that she thought Mr Smith had been trying to cause an accident.
But Judge Moreland said: “In my view, having heard the evidence, the reason for the defendant’s car leaving its straight line and turning into the path of the bike was she was preparing to shout abuse at him and she inadvertently allowed her car to move into the path of the bike, thereby causing the accident.”
Baty, of George Street, Wallsend, was sentenced to a community order with 100 hours’ unpaid work and must pay £2,500 compensation.
Baty was also given 10 points on her licence, meaning she will be banned as she already had three points for speeding.
Penny Hall, defending, said: “She didn’t shout abuse, she opened the window intending to shout abuse but did not do so.
“She’s a lady of previous good character and she’s in work.
“She’s remorseful as to the fact this man was injured. She never expected that he had suffered any injury and she certainly couldn’t have expected the injury to have been of the severity that it was.”