A Jersey schoolteacher has been banned from driving for six months and ordered to complete 70 hours of community service after hitting and seriously injuring a cyclist who was riding in front of them on a downhill section of road, leaving the rider with multiple broken bones and bruised lungs.

51-year-old Michaela Julie Jones was driving on Rue de la Vallée de St Pierre in St Peter, Jersey, at around 7am on 29 November 2022 when she struck the cyclist, who sustained broken ribs, bruised lungs, a broken ankle, and a fracture to part of his pelvis in the crash, the Bailiwick Express reports (link is external).

The Magistrate’s Court in Greffe heard this week that the cyclist had been riding just in front of Jones on a descent prior to the collision and was “well lit” in the dark conditions. However, the motorist failed to see the cyclist, crashing into him as he began to turn right..

Advocate Debbie Corbel, defending, pointed out to the court that Jones had administered first aid to the stricken cyclist before the ambulance arrived, and “pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and took responsibility immediately”.

Corbel also said that the schoolteacher had been driving for 32 years and had never been involved in a collision before, and argued that the crash was due to “a momentary lapse in concentration”.

The advocate added that Jones, who admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, was sometimes required to drive a minibus as part of her teaching job, and suggested an endorsement of her licence rather than a disqualification.

> Driver spared jail after killing cyclist in “momentary lapse of concentration”

Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke said he was taking into account Jones’ early guilty plea and previous clean record, but noted that “there can be little doubt that the injuries were considerable”.

Jones was driving at between 25mph and 30mph at the time of a collision, with Clarke adding: “This was not at low speed, even if it was within the speed limit. This was a serious incident that could have been worse.”

He imposed 70 hours of community service and banned Jones from driving for six months, while also ordering her to retake a driving test at the conclusion of her ban.

Last June, in a similar incident – with altogether graver consequences – a motorist was spared jail after killing a cyclist by “inexplicably” cutting across her path in what was also described in court as a “momentary lapse of concentration”.

Patricia Goulden was handed a suspended prison sentence, as well as being banned from driving for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, for causing the death of 43-year-old cyclist Louise Harrott, who was riding on the Huddersfield Road in Oldham in March 2021 when Goulden, driving a Range Rover, turned across her path and struck her.

Harrott was airlifted from the scene of the crash and taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for surgery, but died from her injuries the following morning.

“This tragic accident was caused by a lapse of concentration by you.. However, there is no explanation or reason why you failed to see Louise,” the judge told Goulden in court before sentencing her to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

https://road.cc/content/news/motorist-injured-cyclist-lapse-concentration-304363