Scooter crash case takes 20 months to get to court

Jose Vieira, 56, has undergone five operations and will require at least one more following the crash in December 2016.

The Magistrate’s Court was told that the defendant had ridden over a yellow line at The Longfrie Inn, St Peter’s, junction – before the filter was installed – and into the path of the oncoming car.

Mr Vieira, of Belstone, Grandes Maison Road, St Sampson’s, admitted riding without due care and attention. He was originally charged with riding in a manner dangerous to the public with an alternative of riding without due care and attention but denied both.

Prosecuting Advocate Rory Calderwood told the court how the accident happened at about 12.25pm on 29 December 2016.

The defendant was exiting Route de Lihou with the intention of turning right towards the airport while the unmarked police car was being driven along the main road – Route du Longfrie – also towards the airport.

Advocate Calderwood said the defendant weighed 18st at the time, much heavier than he is now, and was riding a 50cc machine. His progress into the junction was slow because of this.

He had just been to visit his GP and had not been drinking, as a test later confirmed. He stopped at the yellow line and looked right but now accepts he should have continued to look left and that the police car had right of way.

He was thrown over the bonnet of the car, impacting with the windscreen, before landing in the road on the Rue St Pierre side of the crossroads.

He broke both scapula, his left arm and some ribs, had fluid on his lung, and was in the intensive care unit for some weeks.

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His recovery was extensive. In interview in February last year, he said he had left the doctor’s surgery feeling his usual self. He was intending to go towards St Martin’s and the first thing he remembered after the crash was waking up in hospital.

Judge Graeme McKerrell said he could understand why it had taken until August last year for the defendant to make his first court appearance but questioned why it had taken another 51 weeks to get to this stage.

Advocate Calderwood said the defendant had submitted not guilty pleas in August last year. In May this year the defence had submitted a report that had had a significant bearing on the decision to accept the defendant’s plea this morning.

For the defendant, Advocate Ayres said he should have got the report quicker than he did but his workload had been heavy.

He said the incline of the road, his client’s weight, and the power of the scooter mean that his client had not made good progress into the junction. He had been in a coma for eight days, broke nine ribs on his left side and six on his right, had a badly broken left elbow and a punctured ling. He had broken 30 bones in total and had suffered excruciating pain from his broken scapula prior to having an operation last month. Another operation was still required.

Before the accident he had worked as a chef but had been unable to work since and would not do so in the foreseeable future. His case had been funded by legal aid but at the conclusion of it he would have to pay 80% of the cost back to the States. He had not driven since the accident.

Judge McKerrell said that while the defendant had been to blame for the accident he was not blame for the delay in getting the matter back to court and he had to take that into account with the penalty he would impose today. Mr Vieira was fined £400 and there was no licence suspension.