Driving ban for architect who hit rider

A top architect who pinned a cyclist under his Porsche SUV and drove on thinking it was a road cone will not be behind the wheel for six months.

Andrew James Campbell Patterson, 55, appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday after previously pleading guilty to careless driving causing injury to Peter Redmond.

During the incident on May 27, members of the public desperately tried to lift the defendant’s vehicle off the critically injured cyclist until fire crews eventually freed the man.

“I’ll never forget being dragged all those metres and being trapped, struggling to breathe,” Mr Redmond told the court yesterday. “I thought death was imminent.”

John Billington, QC, said his client was deeply remorseful and there had been a positive restorative justice conference and a confidential payment had been made to Mr Redmond.

As well as banning Patterson from driving for six months, Judge Evangelos Thomas also ordered him to pay another $3000 to the victim for emotional harm.

Mr Billington said the defendant had also made a payment to Cycle Action Auckland and would make ongoing efforts through his work to ensure the safety of cyclists.

Patterson’s firm had a role in working on the Grafton Gully Cycleway project and the lawyer said as a result of the accident his client hoped to be more involved in future.