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news
Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)South Wales woman who used car as weapon, injuring cyclist, convicted of dangerous driving
A female motorist from South Wales has been found guilty of dangerous driving after aiming her car at a cyclist, leaving him injured and his bike a write-off, following a road rage incident that began with a plastic bottle being thrown out of the car involved and striking the rider.
The incident took place on the A48 Swansea Road in Pontlliw on Monday 15 August last year as Gary Marshall was out on a bike ride with his wife, Debbie when he was passed by a car being driven by Victoria Elizabeth Williams of Lower Brynamman which also contained her husband and children, reports This Is South Wales.
During the trial at Swansea Crown Court, the prosecution maintained that the driver, who had pleaded guilty to careless driving but not guilty to the more serious charge of dangerous driving, had used her vehicle, a Volvo 440, as a weapon. The jury found her guilty by a unanimous verdict.
The court heard that Mr Marshall and his wife were riding along the road when they were overtaken by Mrs Williams’ vehicle from which a plastic bottle was thrown, striking Mr Marshall on the arm.
Mr Williams made a gesture and swore, asking, “What are you playing at?" The car then stopped and Mrs Williams husband got out, the two men exchanging words.
"I wanted to know why he had thrown a bottle at me," explained Mr Marshall, adding that he rode off after his wife had told him, "He's not worth it." Riding past the car, he told Mrs Williams, "You're as bad as he is."
Once he had ridden around 20 feet past the Volvo, he heard the car approaching and turned around, whereupon he was hit by it and knocked off his bike, ending up beneath the front of the vehicle.
"Before I knew it, half of my body, up to my waist, was underneath the car," he explained. "I was in a state of complete and utter shock and disbelief."
The cyclist suffered injuries to his knees, arm and side and his bike was written off.
Following her arrest, Mrs Williams said that she had meant to give Mr Marshall a fright but not injure him, saying that he had used swear words in front of her children.
In court, she insisted that when the cyclist braked, there was insufficient space for her to stop, that striking him had not been intentional and that her vehicle had not been used as a weapon.
After the jury returned its guilty verdict, Mrs Williams was bailed while pre-sentencing reports are compiled.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
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I disagree, the lucky few who get to wear one of these will certainly produce more mass.
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You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off....
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Send the details to UK network rail and Transport for Wales as well!
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17 comments
And we couldn't see that one coming could we. The unpaid work and the dont do it again for a year will be for littering .
12 month community order and 100 hours unpaid work. No custodial sentence.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Road-rage-driver-depressed-hit-cyclist...
As a side note I wonder why the CPS didn't persue a GBH charge...
That's not "dangerous" it's more like Assault with a deadly weapon or ABH. If such an act was committed a shaven-haired bloke with tattoos outside a nightclub he'd probably go to prison.
Dangerous morons like that should not be allowed to drive! I hope her kids get to learn that this kind of thing is totally unacceptable (would be good if they had to walk everywhere for a while too).
" she insisted that when the cyclist braked, there was insufficient space for her to stop"
She says that as though it's any kind of mitigation?
It does beg the question as to whether she's a fit person to be in charge of kids, let alone a car.
Hope they also get heavy fine for throwing rubbish out of their window.
Dangerous driving?
A 90 year old biddy going up the M9 the wrong way is dangerous.
This was something else. I hope that they lock her up and chuck away the key - society and her poor kids will be all the better for it.
steady spudley lets not stereotypre here - thankfully motorists like this are still in a minority - I hope the juge has the sense to set an example - as one PC said the other day as par tof the #cyclesafe campaign - motorists should take the responsibility for their actions and the sentencing should reflect this.
More clowns in motor vehicles, both husband and wife should be banned from holding a motor vehicle licence for life...
They don't deserve to be allowed on the roads.
South Wales valleys' motorist why am I not surprised.
Just like the chap who was hit by the bus in Bristol - what's the difference? None. So what if she's got kids? She doesnt deserve to have children in her care if she see's fit to ram cyclists. To jail with her!
This is so wrong! I cannot believe she tried to say that he didn't mean it. What happened to keeping a buffer between yourself and other road users?
I do feel she'll get away with a suspended sentence though which is a shame because it sends out the wrong message to other drivers thinking they can do the same and get away with it!
Soo, ramming a cyclist is less trumatic for her children than them hearing swear words? I fail to see why she wasn't charged for attempted murder or at the very least GBH with intent. Of course there was no room to stop safely, it was twenty feet, reaction time wouldn't have been quick enough. I'm assuming that she accelerated violently to make as much noise as possible to make a point. As cidermart stated, a conditional discharge. Hopefully though a lengthy driving ban followed by a compulsary retest.
I don't get it. They threw the bottle- bad enough in itself- then get aggrieved when that gets exactly the reaction it deserves, then run someone over for 'swearing in front of the children'.
What depressing, angry, small-minded lives mouth-breathers like this must live.
Oooh swore in front of your kids did he that’s not setting a good example is it and I suppose throwing litter at cyclists is? Lady you are scum and need to be banned for life; however I fear that a conditional discharge is in the offing as you need to look after your children don’t you. You have got to love the British legal system
She's clearly making excuses. The "I couldnt help myself, m'lud, the woman had a short skirt on" mentality comes to mind...
So by her own words she admits to driving too closely for a safe stopping distance, not leaving a safety buffer around the cyclist, and being party to an assault whereby the bottle was thrown.
She complains the cyclist swore. Is it any wonder?
What a joke!! This should be either attack with a deadly weapon or attempted murder!!
