Bikes don't kill people, roadies do
Thread started by
marino at 03.18.09 - 2:17 pm
Parents' anguish as killer cyclist walks away with just a fine
By ARTHUR MARTIN
Last updated at 11:10 PM on 08th July 2008
Cyclist: Jason Howard, 36, rode his bike into Rhiannon Bennett on the pavement causing her death
The parents of a teenager killed by a speeding cyclist called for a change in the law after he walked away from court with just a £2,200 fine.
Jason Howard was convicted of dangerous cycling for killing Rhiannon Bennett as she walked to a shop with friends.
Howard, 36, sped towards Rhiannon at more than 23mph, shouting at her to get out of the way.
With no time to react, the 17-year-old horse management student was hit with the full force of the £4,750 custom-built bicycle, suffering fatal injuries as she hit her head on the pavement.
The maximum sentence the judge could have imposed yesterday was a fine of £2,500. But her parents, Mick and Diana Bennett, want the law changed so that dangerous cycling lines up with causing death by dangerous driving. The current maximum for this crime is a 14-year prison sentence.
Rhiannon Bennett pictured at the age of 15
Mr Bennett, 52, a roofer from Finmere in Buckinghamshire, said: 'If anything positive can come out of this awful situation, it would be a change in the law.
'This man has ruined our lives. He headed straight at our beautiful daughter and she stood no chance. He cut her down in the prime of her life and all he gets is a fine. We will still have the agony of watching him cycle around town on that flash bike of his.
'He should have got an eight to ten year prison sentence.'
Parents Diana and Michael Bennett now hope a change in the law will make a difference
Rhiannon was out buying chips with some friends when the accident happened
Mrs Bennett, 46, a home carer, added: 'Our life has been turned upside down and now it's a nightmare. My daughter was such a bright bubbly girl.'
The two-day trial at Aylesbury Crown Court heard that as Howard, a line painter from Buckingham, sped towards Rhiannon on a quiet road near his home in April last year he shouted: 'Move, because I'm not stopping.'
Howard admitted he could have avoided Rhiannon if he had slowed right down.
The carbon fibre titanium bicycle was built to Howard's specifications.
Despite its cost, the court heard it did not comply with the Highway Code because it had no reflectors on the pedals or on the back.
Howard, who has a previous conviction and is well-known in his home town as a 'thrill-seeker', was also ordered to pay £750 in costs.
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while entering a store? so i'm guessing he was riding on a sidewalk?
if he was breaking the vehicle code, then he should be charged with wreckless endangerment or even involuntary manslaughter.
now if she were crossing the street and she didnt see him coming, like when people do when they come out for the door, the pedestrian should be charged for being a dumbass
_iJunes03.18.09 - 2:20 pm
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that reminds me of this young Latin agro type A dude on a fixie with one of the those box type back packs. Me and Dingo where kickin it at the light on the orange line bike path at Sepulveda the light changed and the dude came barreling through yelling "get out of my way or I'll knock your ass down"
Dingo laughed saying "WOW how harsh could that guys life be to act that way"
sexy03.18.09 - 2:23 pm
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bs Junes. you should always stop or attempt to break for a ped. or anybody/anything else.
Not yell at them and tell them to get out of the way. Even if they are breaking the law and in your path.
sexy03.18.09 - 2:25 pm
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Why was this asshole riding 23 mph on the sidewalk?I don't think I could stand the idea of going more then 10 when I'm not in the street.In the end all he had to do was hit his brakes.
blackout_blacklung03.18.09 - 2:32 pm
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He wasn't riding on the sidewalk. The girl was on the street.
And if you think it's OK to hit pedestrians on the street you deserve to be run over by the next asshole driver honking behind you.
Here is another account of the story.
Speeding cyclist killed teenage girl on pavement 'after refusing to swerve'
By Stewart Maclean 8/07/2008
Rhiannon Bennett with mum Diana (Pic:DM)
A speeding cyclist killed a teenage girl after he smashed into her as she walked along a pavement, it was claimed yesterday.
Jason Howard, 35, hit speeds of at least 23mph before he careered into student Rhiannon Bennett, 17.
The teenager hit her head on the pavement, lost consciousness and died six days later in hospital.
Yesterday, Rhiannon's mother Diana, 44, sobbed loudly in the public gallery as witnesses gave their accounts of the tragedy.
Later, she broke down completely and the judge called a 10-minute break as she was helped out of the courtroom by her husband Michael, 52.
The court heard that Howard told police he could have avoided Rhiannon but instead just shouted "Move out of my way, I'm not stopping".
Gerry Collins, prosecuting, said: "He shouted to them but he could, instead, have manoeuvred to the other side of the road or simply applied his brakes. He did neither.
"He struck Rhiannon and her head struck the pavement. She immediately lost consciousness from which she never recovered.
"The defendant admitted, when interviewed, that he could have braked or stopped when he first became aware of the pedestrians."
The court heard that Rhiannon, from Finmere, Bucks, had met friends at a skate park on the evening of the tragedy in Buckingham in April 2007.
The group of seven were walking to a chip shop when Howard came shooting towards them on his bike. A friend of the victim, who cannot be named, said: "He shouted, 'Move, because I'm not stopping'."
marino03.18.09 - 2:40 pm
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if he saw her, then yeah the right thing to do would be to slow down. dude was stupid trying to force her to move.
i guess he admitted his own guilt, so he should be charged but people tend to do that where they jump out of the sidewalk to get into their cars without looking. sometimes its safer to try to pass them more leftward of the lane because braking that suddenly isn ot always the best option.
but i always ride taking up a whole lane so meh
_iJunes03.18.09 - 2:46 pm
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i vote charge him, but don't amend any laws you stupid pedestrians
_iJunes03.18.09 - 2:47 pm
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btw 23 mph in any street unless otherwise noted, is probably not 'speeding' since even residential streets allow 25 typically.
_iJunes03.18.09 - 3:18 pm
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No it wouldn't. UK speed limits are in MPH.
dokydoky03.18.09 - 3:35 pm
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Wait. Are you defending this cyclist, ijunes?
He is indefensible and should be in jail.
"stupid pedestrians' WTF!?!?!?
Please grow up.
gregb03.18.09 - 4:51 pm
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The cyclist is a reckless shithead, no doubt.
But to dump bicycles into the quagmire of liabilites that govern motor vehicles is absurd.
A bike is dangerous because it can knock you down. When you fall down, you can hit your head on stuff.
A car is dangerous because it's relatively massive and can quickly accelerate that mass into your body, causing you fatal injuries before you even hit the ground.
I can ride my bike over your feet, legs, hands, head and chest. It will only piss you off and bruise you.
If I did that with my car, I'd be homicidal and you'd be dead.
Maybe nail guns should be subject to the same laws, regulations and penalties as hand guns. They have similar names, they both fullfill the same basic purpose; and yet the cops never arrest the people across the street despite the daily Dick Tracy they administer to the roofing shingles atop their house. Huh.
A dumb ass cyclist is no excuse for the legal system to get all wonky.
Eric Hair03.18.09 - 6:57 pm
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it's kind of ironic to bitch about cyclists rights if you don't want to abide by the laws of the road.
coldcut03.18.09 - 7:00 pm
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i think that would be more like....hypocrisy
Eric Hair03.18.09 - 7:05 pm
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i guess, but that's just being an asshole.
coldcut03.18.09 - 7:12 pm
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this fucktard should at least have a manslaughter charge tossed against him. 23 on the sidewalk? On a custom, 7 thousand dollar roadbike?
He should be beaten to death with a compressed stack of IQ Tests.
Fuck "reckless cycling" that's manslaughter.
FuzzBeast03.18.09 - 9:42 pm
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yeah, i second the manslaughter charge. quite honestly, this fucker deserves a murder charge. that's basically what he did.
him screaming at her to get outta the way reminds me of this one kid at the last people's ride. he was riding a singlespeed conversion, with no breaks and was yelling at people to get outta the way unless they wanted to get hit. i looked at him and told him he needed to get breaks or learn how to use his feet+wheel to stop. kid just glared at me all angrily.
coldcut03.18.09 - 9:46 pm
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