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Motorist knocked cyclist off his bike then "left him for dead" after he criticised his driving

Cyclist reacted angrily to near miss and driver became enraged

A Liverpool man who accelerated into a cyclist who had criticised his driving has been jailed for 14 months. Sean Furlong, who admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, was also banned from the road for two years and seven months.

The Liverpool Echo reports that at on June 10 last year, Furlong overtook Kenneth Cawsey on Crosby Road South, Seaforth. The cyclist said that he then swerved in front of him, almost hitting the kerb with his front nearside wheel.

Cawsey rode up to Furlong’s open window and asked, "Are you blind or are you an idiot?" before riding away.

Frank Dillon, prosecuting, said that when the lights changed, Furlong sped up behind Cawsey, "got extremely close" and then "slammed on the brakes".

"Mr Cawsey turned his head to Mr Furlong, put his arm out and said, I quote from Mr Cawsey's own account: 'What are you doing? You fucking wanker.'

"In response, Mr Cawsey says Mr Furlong put his full beam on and accelerated towards Mr Cawsey and Mr Cawsey believes the vehicle was turned inwards slightly.”

Furlong hit Cawsey’s rear wheel and drove off. A police officer saw the collision, stopped him further down the road and arrested him.

Dillon said it was impossible to know whether driving into the cyclist was a deliberate act, but that it was clear he had driven “too fast, too close and too dangerously and caused the clipping of the cycle.”

Furlong told the officer, "I may have clipped him, I'm not sure," but Dillon said the collision would have been obvious given that it buckled the bike's back wheel.

Cawsey told the court he now has bone fragments floating around in his right shoulder, which may require surgery. Despite an operation to his knee, he has a limp and has given up cycling.

Furlong’s criminal record includes reckless driving in 1989 and a six year jail sentence for aggravated burglary in 1991.

The judge told Furlong that when challenged by Cawsey, "your already poor driving became dangerous." He added that, "a significant aggravating factor is you did not stop, despite the fact the victim rolled over the bonnet of your car. You left him for dead."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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11 comments

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dassie | 5 years ago
2 likes

If a confrontation with a driver takes place, and you're heading in the same direction - always wait for the driver to leave first, to avoid any punishment manoeuvre...

Avatar
aegisdesign replied to dassie | 5 years ago
1 like

dassie wrote:

If a confrontation with a driver takes place, and you're heading in the same direction - always wait for the driver to leave first, to avoid any punishment manoeuvre...

You've not yet had the emergency stop or the emergency stop and reverse towards you punishment manoeuvre yet then?

 

Avatar
fenix | 5 years ago
1 like

Scumbag. Glad he got jail time but he needs permanently taking off the roads.

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fenix | 5 years ago
1 like

Scumbag. Glad he got jail time but he needs permanently taking off the roads.

Avatar
fenix | 5 years ago
1 like

Scumbag. Glad he got jail time but he needs permanently taking off the roads.

Avatar
fenix | 5 years ago
4 likes

Scumbag. Glad he got jail time but he needs permanently taking off the roads.

Avatar
cbrndc | 5 years ago
8 likes

Just stop it with the "clipping" driving into someone enough to buckle the wheel is not clipping it is  a trivial matter. It is not acceptable to hit a cyclist with a motor vehicle at any time gently or otherwise.

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Daveyraveygravey replied to cbrndc | 5 years ago
4 likes
cbrndc wrote:

Just stop it with the "clipping" driving into someone enough to buckle the wheel is not clipping it is  a trivial matter. It is not acceptable to hit a cyclist with a motor vehicle at any time gently or otherwise.

Glad someone else spotted this. "Clipping"!? FFS, that's the slimy bastards defence team trying to minimise his sentence. "Clipping"?

Avatar
burtthebike | 5 years ago
12 likes

Sentencing again.

"The court has the power to impose a maximum custodial sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment together a level 5 fine and mandatory disqualification period of two years’ or more (unless exceptional circumstances are taken into consideration to not disqualify. Furthermore, those convicted will have to undertake an extended retest."

He's got previous, it could have killed the cyclist and it was only luck that it didn't, but he still only gets a fraction of the maximum sentence.

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growingvegtables replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
5 likes

burtthebike wrote:

Sentencing again. ...

Not just sentencing :-(.

What about a so-called "prosecutor" who describes the cyclist's (natural?) reaction to the defendant's "seriously scruffy driving" (huuuh?) as "provocative behaviour"?  

Moral - to protect myself against prosecution bias, I must ensure, in the event of such an incident, that I ...

 

... dismount, genuflect, and kiss the ground blessed by the passing of the lardy-arsed incompetent.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to growingvegtables | 5 years ago
1 like

growingvegtables wrote:

... dismount, genuflect, and kiss the ground blessed by the passing of the lardy-arsed incompetent.

Might be going a bit far.  How about just sucking their exhaust pipe?

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