Cyclist runs red light, hit by car....

Dr Who

Dr Who

Dr Who

Soldato
Joined
11 Nov 2004
Posts
8,183
Location
Couvains, France
Seems like a plea deal to me, driver gets "awareness course" and Cyclist gets the right to claim on Drivers insurance....


Southampton striker Charlie Austin admits driving offence after colliding with a cyclist, 37, who rode through a red light with no helmet - Agree or disagree?? Discuss!

A Premier League footballer has admitted a driving offence that left a cyclist who rode through a red light with no helmet in critical condition.

Southampton striker Charlie Austin's Bentley collided with Anthony Grey near the clubs stadium last October.

Mr Grey, 37, suffered brain, neck and toe injuries and had a metal plate inserted in his damaged spine so he would be able to recover use of his legs after the crash.

The charity worker said he now suffers memory loss and cannot remember anything about the incident but says he is desperate to meet the millionaire Southampton FC striker to 'get some closure'.

Austin, 27, collided with the father-of-one after he cycled through a red traffic light just half a mile from the football club ground in Southampton, Hampshire.

The striker, who is paid around £55,000 per week and joined Saints in a £4million move from QPR in January 2016, voluntarily attended an interview with police under caution after the incident and admitted driving without due care and attention.

He now has the option to attend a driver awareness course or go to court.

The cyclist, who was issued with a fixed penalty notice for riding through the traffic light, today said: 'I don't remember anything until the day after the crash.

'The worst thing is not knowing what happened. I know what the police said happened and nothing more.

'The last thing I remember is leaving work at 4.30pm and the incident was at 5.30pm.

'I remember coming round in the hospital and a police officer giving me my rucksack, which had been cut in half to get it off me.
'The pain was excruciating. I could not move my legs or my upper body at all when I woke up. I had to wear a neck collar and body brace.

'The surgeons have fixed it though and have done an incredible job. Really I should have been left in a wheelchair, but I am not.
'I just want to understand how it all happened. I know where I was going and doing but something went horribly wrong.

'I have always said people should wear safely gear and if they do something wrong while cycling on the road they could be held accountable.

'Police gave me a ticket for running the traffic lights - this may be why I was hit, I don't know.

'I don't blame anyone - both Mr Austin and I were there and it seems we both made a mistake.'

Mr Grey, of Southampton, says he will never be able to ride a bike again after the incident, which has left him still suffering with pain in his knee and elbow.

He said: 'It has changed my life. It has given me a new outlook on life - I feel like I have been given a second chance - although I don't know if I deserve it.'

A fixed penalty notice for a cyclist going through a red light results in a £30 fine.

In a statement, Austin said the collision had happened when Mr Grey cycled across his path as he pulled away from traffic lights.

He said: 'I was driving in the city centre of Southampton and had stopped at traffic lights at a junction.

'I moved forward when the lights turned green and it was at that point that a cyclist unexpectedly came across my path and a collision occurred.

'Following a police investigation of the accident, I provided a statement to the Hampshire Constabulary in early 2017 to give them my version of events.'

A spokesman for Southampton Football Club said contact has been made between the striker and Mr Grey.

Austin, who joined Southampton in January 2016, has scored nine times this season, but has been sidelined until April with a shoulder injury suffered early in December.

@Credits: Daily Mail Daily Echo
Click to expand...
 
Well its said repeatedly what the cyclist did wrong and zip diddly what the driver did other than a vague lack of care and attention.

Lack of anything to disagree with.
 
Mr Grey, of Southampton, says he will never be able to ride a bike again after the incident
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good outcome then, given he shouldn't have been riding in the first place if he can't understand a simple traffic signal.
 
'I don't blame anyone - both Mr Austin and I were there and it seems we both made a mistake.'

-_- You ran a red light you idiot how is anyone else to blame, there is either more to the story or this is just another blame culture gone mad...
 
Probably just the footballer doesn't want to be seen as "evil rich man hurts poor father". It's not like the insurance premiums are gonna mean anything to him.
Everyone seems to agree on the cyclist running the red light, so it's 100% his fault.
 
'I don't blame anyone - both Mr Austin and I were there and it seems we both made a mistake.'
Click to expand...
erm, 1 actively chose to run the light (or wasn't paying due care) and the other presumably accidentally hit the cyclist, not out of choice? so, how did both make a mistake - surely this is all down the cyclist...

*edit* lol, Fireskull had the same idea for that comment...
 
Hmm, I've seen plenty of cyclists get the blame and had to pay for the damage to the car in these situations. There must be more to it.
 
Is that the actual incident :eek: If it is then it's no surprise that the cyclist thought it ok to jump the red light though he was definitely wrong to do so. Not many would expect some fud driving like that at what looks like a fair speed. The driver didn't even brake by the look of it.

EDIT Never mind. It wasn't the actual crash.
 
Nevertheless you can see there is a lack of details as to why the driver also got done and can imagine there are circumstances where someone running a red light still isn't fully to blame if there's an accident.
 
lack of details for sure! I doubt the driver would've been charged for dangerous driving if he simply followed the rules aka speed etc and hit the cyclist who was jumping red. I'd expect the cyclist to get full blame for it unless the driver did something - doubt any driver would even admit to dangerous driving if they were not doing anything wrong.
 
I've read a similar article elsewhere with claims the cyclist went through on Amber, not red, so not sure which to believe.
 
Like others have said, there is a gaping omission in the article as to why the driver got dealt with for driving without due care and attention. This is why trial by press/public is stupid, because you only get what the newspaper want you to have - not the full facts. In this instance they're clearly going for the typical "persecuted motorist" hot potato.

It even says that the footballer admitted driving without due care and attention which means there was something for him to hold his hands up to, otherwise he would have protested his innocence. Reading between the lines - I don't think he's done anything horrifically wrong, but potentially launched from the lights very quickly?
 
Well the motorist admitted to driving without due care and attention. Sounds like there is more to it that the poor decision to cycle through the red light by the cyclist.
 
roadie said:
Well the motorist admitted to driving without due care and attention. Sounds like there is more to it that the poor decision to cycle through the red light by the cyclist.
Click to expand...


What I read elsewhere was that he admitted the "Charge" on the grounds that he agreed to attend a driving awareness course with no further action taken.

IE the Police basically said "We know you are not to blame but we have to go through the motions because Cyclist"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom