Driver banned for East Sussex crash which seriously injured teenage motorcyclist
The 19-year-old rider says he's 'haunted every night' by what happened
A teenage motorcyclist who suffered life-changing injuries in a crash on the A259 last year has said the image 'still haunts him every night'.
The 19-year-old from Eastbourne was speaking after the driver responsible for the collision at Hooe was given a 15-month driving ban.
40-year-old Stuart Hutchinson turned his Nissan Qashqai into the path of the biker at around 8.30am on November 29th last year while trying to avoid a build-up of traffic travelling towards Bexhill.
Hastings Magistrates Court heard dashcam footage showed Hutchinson turning abruptly in an attempt to travel in the opposite direction, near the turning for the Custom Café.
The 19-year-old motorcycle rider was filtering past traffic, and Hutchinson did not see him.
The rider sustained injuries including broken legs, broken arms, broken shoulder blades, spinal injuries, multiple dislocations, damage to his Achillies tendon and broken bones in his hands.
He said:
“This memory is a constant source of stress, it feels like I am reliving the moment when I believed I was about to die.”
The rider added the collision has left the victim “emotionally scarred” and with anxiety.
Hutchinson, formerly a chef of Brinklehurst Drive in Bexhill, was also given a community order, requiring him to complete 180 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £85 costs and a £114 surcharge.
Speaking after the case, PC Lewis Jordan from the Roads Policing Unit, said: “This case demonstrates the devastating consequences of a moment of carelessness.
“When asked at interview whether he would have carried out the manoeuvre in a driving test, Hutchinson declined to comment.
“It shows that the turn was not advisable. It was attempted to save perhaps just a minute or two of queueing in traffic due to temporary road works on the A259.
“The result is that a young man’s life has been changed forever.
“It highlights the need for all motorists to take care on our roads, and to look out for vulnerable road users.
“All drivers should check that a manoeuvre is safe to complete, and in the case of cycles and motorcycles, think bike.”