Thug breaks bride’s leg in three places with remote control car
A BRIDE-TO-BE had her leg fractured in three places when a thug rammed his remotecontrolled car into her at up to 30mph as she exercised in a park. Ricky Fitzgerald’s petrol-powered vehicle left Emily Patel with ‘appalling’ injuries three weeks before her wedding day. She went ahead with her wedding to Sudi Patel but had to walk down the aisle on crutches. After Fitzgerald, 40, was jailed for two years Mrs Patel, who runs a beauty salon, said she was satisfied with the sentence. She added: ‘Unfortunately it will never repair the fact that he almost ruined my wedding day, but hopefully his sentence will punish him for that.’ Remote-controlled cars which run on petrol can cost anything between £350 and £1,250 and are popular with adult hobbyists. They require skilled opera- tors due to their size and performance, but are relatively straightforward to set up and can normally be driven straight out of the box. They are typically about a fifth the size of a real car, about 3ft long and very heavy. The engine is usually similar to those in lawnmowers and runs on a mixture of petrol and two-stroke oil. Portsmouth Crown Court heard that Fitzgerald, who has previous convictions including for threats to kill, was trying to intimidate Mrs Patel, 22, and her friends while they were taking part in a fitness class at a park in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. After the impact of his car sent her flying Fitzgerald grabbed the vehicle and fled. He was eventually caught by police. Jailing him, Judge Roger Hetherington said the extraordi‘
‘He almost ruined my wedding day’
nary offence’ on August 21 last year had caused appalling disruption to Mrs Patel’s wedding. He told Fitzgerald it was clear he had been operating the car to disrupt the fitness class and to intimidate those taking part. He went on: ‘you intentionally drove that car in the direction of various people who were lawfully trying to have some recreation in the park. you then drove the car at one of the members of the class, it has been said at 30mph. That may be an exaggeration but it was certainly a fast speed. ‘It hit her in the leg, she tripped and fell over and sustained a serious injury, a triple fracture to her leg. ‘She was three weeks away from her wedding. There was the most appalling disruption inevitably to that. ‘She was able to carry through with it but only in the state of injury and with bandages and aids to assist her. ‘She was self- employed and she has suffered financially from the effects of this incident.’ Mrs Patel said after the case: ‘It has been a bit of a rollercoaster of a year for me, but I am happy it has finally come to an end. I had no idea what sentence he would receive, but I am happy with the two years in jail he was given.’ Fitzgerald of Burgess Hill, who admitted grievous bodily harm, has previous convictions for threats to kill, having a bladed article and affray in 2012, the court heard. His brother James Fitzgerald, 28, also of Burgess Hill, was also jailed at the hearing. Both were found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after attacking a man at their home. Each was jailed for 21 months for that offence, with James receiving an extra eight months for breaching a previous suspended sentence. Judge Hetherington said both men suffered from mental health problems.