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Driver jailed for three years for ramming cyclist in north London Driver jailed for three years for ramming cyclist in north London
(about 5 hours later)
A motorist who chased and ploughed into a cyclist, sending him flying into a tree, has been jailed for three years. A motorist who used her car to chase a cyclist and ram him into a tree after an argument over her use of a mobile phone at the wheel has been jailed for three years.
Justine Henshaw-Bryan rammed a Ford Fiesta into Damien Doughty on 10 February last year in north London after he confronted her for using a mobile phone while driving. Damien Doughty suffered serious injuries after the incident in north London in February last year. Justine Henshaw-Bryan, who is now pregnant and due to give birth in November, claimed her boyfriend had grabbed the wheel.
Henshaw-Bryan, 25, of Hackney, east London was found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Wood Green crown court. But the judge told her she had used the car “as a weapon” to injure the cyclist and could have killed him.
Sentencing, Judge Gregory Perrins told Henshaw-Bryan her actions could have killed Doughty and that she must have been aware of the risk her dangerous driving presented to him. “Those who are unable to control their temper while driving and feel that cyclists are fair game must be dealt with severely,” Judge Gregory Perrins told her as he passed sentence on Wednesday.
“This was a calculated attempt to run him over and use your car as a weapon,” Perrins continued. “It would have been obvious that to do so would have carried significant risk of injury” to Doughty. He said she must have been aware of the risk her driving presented to him. “This was a calculated attempt to run him over and use your car as a weapon. It would have been obvious that to do so would have carried significant risk of injury.”
He added: “Those who are unable to control their temper while driving and feel that cyclists are fair game must be dealt with severely.” Doughty said: “[I was] exceptionally scared. You can hear the engine revving really close to you. I remember the car rear ending me, kind of letting out a scream and realising what was happening. I crumbled into a heap on the floor, and I am in extreme amounts of pain.”
As well as being jailed for three years, Henshaw-Bryan, who is due to give birth in November, was banned from driving for four and half years and given six penalty points. Besides the jail term she was handed at Wood Green crown court, 25-year-old Henshaw-Bryan was also given a four-and-a-half-year driving disqualification and six penalty points.
The court heard how she and Doughty nearly collided on Stoke Newington High Street in north London when she pulled out in front of the cycle courier while using her phone. The court heard that she had nearly collided with her victim as she pulled out in front of Doughty, a cycle courier, while using her phone in the Stoke Newington area of north-east London.
Doughty, 38, confronted Henshaw-Bryan over her use of the phone, to which she shouted at him and told him to “fuck off”, the court heard. Angry by the exchange, in response he kicked her wing mirror when they met at the next set of lights. Doughty, who is 38, confronted Henshaw-Bryan over her use of the handset and she responded by shouting and swearing at him. Angered, Doughty then kicked her wing mirror when they met at the next set of lights, the court heard. Henshaw-Bryan chased the cyclist down and used the vehicle to send him into a tree, before driving off.
She then chased him down and while on Victorian Grove used the vehicle to send him careering into a tree, before driving off. Doughty spent two weeks in hospital, including three days in intensive care, with a serious liver injury, as well as a broken hand and a punctured lung.
The court heard how Doughty was left with a number of injuries including a serious one to his liver, and spent two weeks in hospital, three days of which were in intensive care. Henshaw-Bryan said she had been driving the Ford Fiesta with her then-boyfriend in the car, who she said had subjected her to domestic violence. She said that he told her to follow the cyclist and that it was her boyfriend who had grabbed the wheel and aimed the vehicle at Doughty. In evidence to the court her boyfriend denied grabbing the wheel.
Driving with her then boyfriend in the car, she claimed he had told her to follow Doughty, and it was him who had grabbed the wheel and aimed the vehicle at the cyclist. Her boyfriend denied this in evidence to the court. But the judge did not accept that Henshaw-Bryan was frightened of her boyfriend and said her reaction to Doughty’s initial interaction with her suggested she was angry and confrontational.
Perrins said that despite hearing she had been a victim of domestic violence while in the relationship, he did not accept Henshaw-Bryan was frightened of her then boyfriend. In the dock, Henshaw-Bryan appeared tearful and could be seen looking over to her family who were in the public gallery.
The judge told her she must have been angry and confrontational as she was prepared to tell Doughty to “fuck off”, before pursuing him at speed. In the dock, Henshaw-Bryan appeared tearful and could be seen looking over to her family who were sitting in the public gallery. As she was taken to the cells after her sentence was passed, she shouted out “I love you mummy, I love you daddy”, and blew kisses towards them. The court heard how she is a carer for her mother and helps her with “daily basic care needs”. Judge Perrins said he accepted this will have an impact on her parent but said that is her fault and “no one else’s”.
As she was taken to the cells after her sentencing, she shouted out “I love you Mummy, I love you Daddy”, and blew kisses towards them. Henshaw-Bryan is a carer for her mother and helps her with “daily basic care needs”, the court heard.
Perrins said he accepted the sentence would have an impact on her mother but that was Henshaw-Bryan’s fault and “no one else’s”.