A judge has said that a private prosecution of a motorist for allegedly causing the death by careless driving of London cyclist Michael Mason can proceed.
Mr Mason, also known as Mick, died in hospital in March 2014, nearly three weeks after the collision on Regent Street involving a Nissan Juke driven by 58-year-old Gail Purcell of St Albans, Hertfordshire.
The 70-year-old, a teacher at Westminster’s Grey Coat Hospital girls’ school, sustained “severe traumatic brain injury” as a result of the crash.
The private prosecution has been brought on behalf of Mr Mason’s family by the Cyclists’ Defence Fund (CDF), the first such action it has instigated.
It was launched after the Metropolitan Police Service decided not to press charges, and is funded by donations from the public which have reached almost £64,000 made through the website Just Giving.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, Ms Purcell pleaded not guilty to the charge, reports the London Evening Standard’s Ross Lydall.
District judge Kenneth Grant gave the go-ahead for the private prosecution, but said the seriousness of the offence meant it could not be heard at magistrates’ court.
Instead, the case, which has been adjourned until 11 October, will be tried at Southwark Crown Court.
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Excellent - I think I'll replace my emergency tube that is a real squeeze to get into the little Topeak bottle cage bag thingy.
I'm genuinely shocked by his their reaction.
I enjoyed this guy I captured with his hound on New Oxford Street a few years ago.
That's perspective though - not a small number of americans would consider the current UK government "socialist"....
I know this is a bit late but one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the extra wear and possible damage to the cycle lane surface due to being...
*bursts back into the room hours after the conversation has moved on*...
Damn, that sucks. I generally feel pretty relaxed with my bike on Avanti trains because the compartment is locked and I don't have to worry about...
They are ugly, and presumably require registration to use them. But the argument "it should be car parking instead" is absurd. Surely a camera and...
It's endemic now. Watched a skip lorry jump two reds within 100m on my commute this morning. No intention of stopping.
I strugle to think other as cool bikes as this. If my city was flatter and I fitter, I would drool over it....