Luton man given 14 months in prison for causing death to a man after collision involving an electric vehicle
Tudor Manolache has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for causing the death of a man in his eighties by careless driving.
Last updated 29th Jan 2024
A man from Luton has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for causing the death of a man in his eighties.
Tudor Manolache, who is 39, had pled guilty to causing death by careless driving.
He collidied with Leonard Bailey, who was walking in the opposite direction, whilst riding a single wheeled electric vehicle on the pavement last year.
Bailey, who was 88, died of his injuries in hospital a few weeks later.
The vehicle involved was a Begode RS, an electrically powered single wheel motor vehicle. The rider stands on it and leans in order to accelerate, brake and steer.
It is estimated that Manolache was travelling at between 20 to 30 MPH when the accident occurred.
Detective Sergeant David Burstow, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Collisions Unit, said: “This is a precedential case as it is the first prosecution in our area resulting from a fatal collision involving a personal light electric vehicle.
He added that "use of a personal light electric vehicle such as this, or the more common two-wheel scooter, is illegal on the road or a public place, except in official trial areas on trial vehicles."
“Even then, use on the footpath remains illegal, owing to the increased risk to pedestrians.”
Manolache, of Cowper Street, Luton will also be disqualified from driving for two years after his release.