Driver prosecuted after doing 'dangerous' U-turn on A5 near Oswestry
A retired man suffered multiple-injuries when he was knocked off his motorcycle by a car that did a U-turn directly in his path.
Car driver Michael Ian Sadowska, a 32-year-old tree surgeon, was sitting in a queue of traffic on the A5 near Chirk, in April.
He decided to do a U-turn to go a different way and pulled out as motorcyclist Alan Parker was riding past.
A court heard yesterday how the motorcyclist was thrown through the air and landed in the opposite carriageway.
He suffered multiple injuries and had to use a wheelchair after a broke his ankles and wrists and suffered ligament damage to his left knee.
Sadowska, 32, of Oak Avenue in Penley near Whitchurch, admitted careless driving and was fined £235 with £85 costs and a £30 surcharge.
Five penalty points were placed on his licence.
Prosecutor Sean Bartlett-Evans told Flintshire Magistrates’ Court that there was a queue of traffic from the Gledryd roundabout back towards the Halton roundabout at Chirk on April 23.
The defendant decided to do a U-turn to go another way and it was the prosecution case that he had not indicated but turned out into the motorcyclist’s path.
The victim had no time to avoid a collision.
He said the impact sent both the rider and the motorcycle into the opposite carriageway but thankfully it was free of on-coming traffic.
Euros Jones, defending, said that traffic had built back up, and everyone was doing U-turns to go and use back lanes.
It was the defendant’s case that he looked forwards, looked backwards and indicated – and claimed the indicators were still on after the impact.
But he pleaded guilty on the basis that he did not look back again.
The motorcyclist said he was riding slowly at 20 mph but it was the defendant’s case that the machine was being ridden at 30 to 40 mph.
Mr Jones said of his client: “He looked once but accepts that he should have looked again before making that manoeuvre.”
The defendant was a tree surgeon who had travelled the world doing his work but he had returned to his home town where he was running his own business.
He had to buy a great deal of equipment and matters had not been helped financially by the vehicle written off.
His client had to buy another vehicle but the insurance company had looked after the rider.
Magistrates said that his carelessness had led to another man being injured.
