A horrific crash in Preston has underlined
the dangers of reckless driving.
Martin Winstanley, of Chorley's Kingsley
Drive, was jailed for two years in a hearing at Preston Crown Court after being
found guilty of dangerous driving and possession of cocaine, the Lancashire
Evening Post reports.
Winstanley lost his leg in a motorcycle
accident on April 20th, as he rode his Suzuki GSR600 motorcycle on
Chorley Lane. He lost control when overtaking a Volkswagen Golf and ran into a
BT cable box.
He then collided with Anne Grand, who was
putting her bin out at the time. Ms Grand, 59, was seriously injured in the
collision and needed to spend several weeks in hospital.
Personal
injury solicitors Preston note that motorcyclists in particular need to
take exceptional care when on the road. While Winstanley required an above-knee
leg amputation as a result of the road traffic accident, he was fortunate to
have not lost his life.
When police arrived at the scene of the
incident, they found a tub of white powder, which turned out to be cocaine. It
is believed that Winstanley was couriering the cocaine at the time of the
incident.
Robert Cummings QC gave Winstanley 16
months in jail for dangerous driving, and an additional eight months for
possession of a class A drug.
His defence, David Ryan, told the court
that Winstanley's long-term recovery would be damaged by his jail term.
In mitigation, he pointed out that
Winstanley admitted that he was guilty at the outset of the case, and suffered
life-threatening, catastrophic injuries himself.
Motorcycle
accident claims
While many road users may believe that
motorcyclists are typically reckless, no win no fee solicitors Preston know
that this is not actually the case. A 2004 study by Clarke et al found that in
the majority of motorcycle accidents, other road users not including the
motorcyclist were to blame for the incident, with 48% of collisions involving
motorbikes and cars caused by drivers failing to properly look before
manoeuvring.
