Driver apologises, loses licence for crashing into motorcyclist

A driver who crashed into a motorcyclist in ‘‘a moment’s inattention’’ has met with the man to apologise in person.

Valerie Mavis Gray, 63, was driving her Nissan Terrano at the intersection of George St and Seymour St, in central Blenheim, about 2.40pm on September 20.

Gray believed the road was clear and pulled out into the intersection, knocking down the motorcyclist and dragging his bike across the road, wedged under her front bumper.

Gray was still in the car when emergency services arrived, a police summary of facts said.

An ambulance took the motorcyclist to Wairau Hospital, in Blenheim, where he was treated for a broken femur and a broken bone in his hand.

Gray admitted a charge of careless driving causing injury last November, and reappeared for sentencing at the Blenheim District Court on Monday.

Her lawyer Laurie Murdoch said the case had been remanded off so Gray could complete a defensive driving course before sentencing.

‘‘She had an elderly neighbour with her and they were both very shaken by the crash,’’ Murdoch said.

Gray was ‘‘devastated’’ to be in the courts, as it was her first criminal charge during her 63 years, Murdoch said.

She had met with the motorcyclist through the restorative justice process to apologise in person, and paid the motorcyclist $1000 in reparation.

The motorcyclist said in a victim impact statement he had rods and screws put into his leg, and had been unable to work, and was missing out on wages.

But Judge Denys Barry, reading the victim impact statement, said the motorcyclist had accepted Gray’s apology, and her offer of reparation for the loss of his bike.

‘‘There was a moment’s inattention, that resulted in harm,’’ Judge Barry said.

‘‘As it often happens in cases such as this, the harm is out of proportion to the lapse of attention, and the consequences went way beyond the norm.’’

Judge Denys Barry convicted Gray and gave her the minimum mandatory disqualification period of six months.