Driver taken to court after smashing into unlicensed biker who fled Wakefield crash scene

The biker was left with a broken wrist and pelvis, required surgery and was bedbound for eight weeks following the smash in Ossett, Wakefield.

Driver Daniel Giles appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he admitted causing serious injury through careless driving.

Prosecutor Daniel Ingham said Giles had been heading along Leeds Road at around 5.30pm on January 7, 2023. It was dark and conditions were wet, the court heard.

Giles began to turn right and moved into the opposite carriageway but failed to see the biker coming towards him. Striking the Ford Fiesta, the rider was thrown into the air and landed on a parked vehicle. He also had a pillion rider on the back.

Giles stopped immediately and dialled 999, but the bike rider left the scene. He was later admitted to Leeds General Infirmary where it was found he had a fracture to his wrist, and two fractures to his pelvis. Pins had to be inserted into his pelvis. No details were known about the injuries, if any, caused to the pillion rider.

Giles, 54, was arrested and during his police interview admitted that he had not seen the biker. He has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Katherine White pointed to Giles remaining at the scene and doing everything possible, while the unlicensed biker fled.

Miss White said: "This is not to take blame away, he is extremely remorseful. He accepts his involvement. He has never been or ever likely to be again, before the courts.

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"It was a lapse in concentration that resulted in this incident. It happened in a flash and to his credit he remained at the scene. He has held his hands up from the moment he stopped."

The judge, the Recorder of Leeds Guy Kearl KC, handed him a 12-month community order, 100 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month driving ban.

He told him: "I suspect you still do not know how it happened, but it did. You are a good family man, trustworthy and respectable. It was plainly a lack of attention."