Young moped rider lost his right leg in horrific Warsop collision with careless driver
A young man lost his leg when a careless driver knocked him off his moped after a horrific collision in Warsop, a court has heard.
Dameon Hilton waited for a 4x4 to pass him on Sherwood Street before turning right onto Cottage Lane but failed to notice the moped rider when the accident happened at 5.10pm, on September 1 last year.
One witness described the screeching of tyres as Hilton tried to accelerate across too small a gap, while another said he would still have had to brake for him even if there hadn’t been an accident.
Hilton initially tried to blame the moped rider for the accident in one interview with police, said Catherine Wilson, prosecuting.
The court heard a heartbreaking statement by the victim's mum in which she described the horror of seeing her son in excruciating pain at the scene.
She told of his medical ordeal which involved three operations, the amputation of his right leg below the knee, and the fitting of a prosthesis.
Ms Wilson told of the impact on his mental health and how he formerly enjoyed running, swimming and racing.
She also described how adaptations had to be made to his family home because he initially had to use a wheelchair.
Mark Stocks, mitigating, said Hilton, who is of previous good character with an impeccable driving record, offered a full and unreserved apology for what happened.
“He made an error of judgment,” he said. “There was never any intention to cause such a serious and dramatic injury.”
He said Hilton walks with a stick as a result of being knocked off a motorcycle when he was a young man, and has himself suffered post-traumatic stress following the collision.
“Nothing he can say or do can repair the damage,” Mr Stocks said. “He could not have foreseen the truly horrific consequences of one error of judgment.”
Hilton, 44, of Brook Street, Ossett, West Yorkshire, admitted causing serious injury by careless driving, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on June 10.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to 52 weeks, suspended for 18 months, with 200 hours of unpaid work. He was banned from driving for 18 months and he must take the extended driving test.
Court costs totalling £239 will be deducted from his benefits.