A "violent driver" who deliberately rammed a cyclist into a parked HGV — leaving his victim with spinal fractures that reduced him to "a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed" — has avoided jail.

Adam Ruszkowski was handed a two-year suspended sentence suspended for two years by a judge at London Crown Court, and will have to pay Thomas Purchase £3,000 in compensation, having pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to what the judge described as a "moment of madness".

The Daily Mail (link is external) reported details of the case from court, Ruszkowski also required to complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work, the 37-year-old single father to twin boys banned from driving for two years.

"One inconsiderate, violent driver who wanted to show who was boss"

The court heard that at around 11.30am on 29 August 2023, Mr Purchase was riding his bike along Lambeth Walk in Kennington when he passed Ruszkowski's vehicle.

"You thought he had broken your wing mirror, which it appears caused you to lose your temper and to do what you did next," judge Darren Reed summarised.

The enraged driver accelerated and followed Mr Purchase, driving in "close proximity" and "coming alongside him". Judge Reed said the cyclist had been "sandwiched between the two vehicles and was not on his bike".

Eyewitness reports were clear that Ruszkowski had "deliberately swerved" into the cyclist, ramming him into a parked HGV and causing spinal fractures.

"Unsurprisingly your actions had a substantial impact on Mr Purchase," the judge continued. "His partner had to care for him. He suffered spinal fractures. This was a moment of madness. Mr Purchase could have been killed by your actions, which, I'm sure, is something you have reflected on."

Prosecutor George Jackson explained how the victim was taken to St Thomas' Hospital and has not been able to cycle again since due to "ongoing pain and discomfort".

In his victim impact statement Mr Purchase explained how he "became a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed" following the incident.

"The impact was so violent and so forceful that I was unable to move my legs. My arms were reduced to uncoordinated wet noodles," he recalled. "I will be forever grateful to the kind members of the public who came to my aid that day, called the emergency services and bought me ice packs for the pain..

"During the whole ordeal the individual who had run me down was nowhere to be seen. I became a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed.."

Ruszkowski's legal representation Oliver Snodin suggested his client had "expressed empathy and remorse towards the complainant".

"This was a moment of madness that was a reaction to the complainant's actions," he said. "He is self-employed as a plumber. He has had to adapt to not being able to drive any more. It is frankly something he has had to get used to. He takes jobs in the local area. He doesn't have the means to carry around large tools."

https://road.cc/content/news/violent-driver-avoids-jail-deliberately-rammed-cyclist-306715

On 13/02/2024 07:19, Simon Mason wrote:
> A "violent driver" who deliberately rammed a cyclist into a parked HGV — leaving his victim with spinal fractures that reduced him to "a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed" — has avoided jail.
>
> Adam Ruszkowski was handed a two-year suspended sentence suspended for two years by a judge at London Crown Court, and will have to pay Thomas Purchase £3,000 in compensation, having pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving in relation to what the judge described as a "moment of madness".
>
> The Daily Mail (link is external) reported details of the case from court, Ruszkowski also required to complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work, the 37-year-old single father to twin boys banned from driving for two years.
>
> "One inconsiderate, violent driver who wanted to show who was boss"
>
> The court heard that at around 11.30am on 29 August 2023, Mr Purchase was riding his bike along Lambeth Walk in Kennington when he passed Ruszkowski's vehicle.
>
> "You thought he had broken your wing mirror, which it appears caused you to lose your temper and to do what you did next," judge Darren Reed summarised.
>
> The enraged driver accelerated and followed Mr Purchase, driving in "close proximity" and "coming alongside him". Judge Reed said the cyclist had been "sandwiched between the two vehicles and was not on his bike".
>
> Eyewitness reports were clear that Ruszkowski had "deliberately swerved" into the cyclist, ramming him into a parked HGV and causing spinal fractures.
>
> "Unsurprisingly your actions had a substantial impact on Mr Purchase," the judge continued. "His partner had to care for him. He suffered spinal fractures. This was a moment of madness. Mr Purchase could have been killed by your actions, which, I'm sure, is something you have reflected on."
>
> Prosecutor George Jackson explained how the victim was taken to St Thomas' Hospital and has not been able to cycle again since due to "ongoing pain and discomfort".
>
> In his victim impact statement Mr Purchase explained how he "became a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed" following the incident.
>
> "The impact was so violent and so forceful that I was unable to move my legs. My arms were reduced to uncoordinated wet noodles," he recalled. "I will be forever grateful to the kind members of the public who came to my aid that day, called the emergency services and bought me ice packs for the pain.
>
> "During the whole ordeal the individual who had run me down was nowhere to be seen. I became a hollow shell of a person, barely able to get out of bed."
>
> Ruszkowski's legal representation Oliver Snodin suggested his client had "expressed empathy and remorse towards the complainant".
>
> "This was a moment of madness that was a reaction to the complainant's actions," he said. "He is self-employed as a plumber. He has had to adapt to not being able to drive any more. It is frankly something he has had to get used to. He takes jobs in the local area. He doesn't have the means to carry around large tools."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/violent-driver-avoids-jail-deliberately-rammed-cyclist-306715

Look on the bright side.

There was a whole £3,000 in the "compo pot".
>

peted76 | 5 hours ago
22 likes
If you stab someone with a knife in a moment of madness is carries a 10 year sentence.

If you crush someone with a motor vehicle it carries a two year suspended sentence, three grand fine, 200 hours community work and a two year driving ban.

What a f&*king joke. What planet does this judge live on.

At the very bare minimum, that scumbag should never be allowed to drive again and his actions should 100% put him in prison.

Also.. they really should not take into account 'expressions of empathy and remorse' they really are insulting in cases like this.

On 13/02/2024 15:19, Simon Mason wrote:

> peted76 | 5 hours ago
> 22 likes
>
> If you stab someone with a knife in a moment of madness is carries a 10 year sentence.
>
> If you crush someone with a motor vehicle it carries a two year suspended sentence, three grand fine, 200 hours community work and a two year driving ban.
>
> What a f&*king joke. What planet does this judge live on.
>
> At the very bare minimum, that scumbag should never be allowed to drive again and his actions should 100% put him in prison.
>
> Also.. they really should not take into account 'expressions of empathy and remorse' they really are insulting in cases like this.

The £3,000 awarded as the "compo pot" tells you what you need to know
about the judicial view of the case.

It could have been hundreds of thousands (it sometimes is and the
insurance pays).

But it was the massive sum of £3,000.

Why don't you ask your brother judge about his judicial reasoning in the
instant case, M'Lud?

wtjs | 8 hours ago
2 likes

road.cc also contacted Uber for this story, but had not heard back at the time of publishing

You won't! Standard Uber practice- what they did over this illegal crossing of the unbroken white line was to continually fail to read the messages, pretend to think I was referring to an Uber ride I was taking, demand my mobile phone number in addition to my email address, refer to elsewhere at Uber and then the Specialised Support Team fails to respond