Cyclist convicted of ‘furious driving’ after striking a pedestrian in Derry

A cyclist who rode into a pedestrian in Northern Ireland has been given a suspended sentence after being convicted for the rarely used offence of 'furious driving'.

Shane Coyle,  26, of Kingsmere Gardens, Derry, was sentenced on Wednesday for seriously injuring a dog-walker in the city last August.

He was cycling on a footpath on Belt Road when he struck the woman out walking her dog, who suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and several broken ribs.

A passing motorist had seen the offence unfold, and had stopped to give aid to the victim whilst Coyle called the emergency services. The woman was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital, and onto the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where a blood clot was discovered on her brain.

During sentencing at Londonderry Crown Court, Judge Neil Rafferty KC highlighted the rarity of this case in his three decade-long career. The offence, first introduced in 1861 to deter people from driving horse carriages recklessly, is now used when a non-motorised vehicle is involved in a crime.

“This is my first time in almost 36 years of criminal practice that I have encountered the offence of furious driving,” he said, before handing Coyle a suspended six-month jail sentence on account of his “remorse” and “victim empathy”.

Whilst rare, the charge of 'wanton and furious driving' has been used before. In 2017, Kim Briggs died after being hit by a cyclist in East London. Charlie Alliston, who struck the victim, was riding a fixed wheel bike. Alliston was found not guilty of manslaughter but jurors at the Old Bailey found him guilty on a charge of wanton and furious driving, and he was later sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In 2018, a cyclist prosecuted for 'causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving' after injuring a pedestrian in Salford, Manchester, was spared a jail sentence.

“I am satisfied there were no aggravating factors other than he was cycling too fast on a pavement,” Judge Rafferty said of Coyle last Wednesday, concluding that the case serve as a “significant warning” for cyclists who choose to ride on pavements and the “harm they could cause without intending to do so”.

Dangerous or reckless cycling is currently punished with a maximum two-year custodial sentence. But the crime of causing death by dangerous cycling is now an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law earlier this year.