Cyclist died after year after collision with tractor, court told
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A KEEN cyclist died in hospital almost a year after being paralysed when he was struck by a tractor on a country road, a court heard.
The statement of John Cole, aged 62, from Guilsborough, was read to a jury at Northampton Crown Court yesterday, detailing how he was injured and paralysed.
He suffered a fractured pelvis and ankle as well as two fractured vertebrae, causing him to became a quadriplegic, when he was in collision with a fork lift agricultural vehicle while cycling on a gated road between West Haddon and Guilsborough on January 21, 2009, it is alleged.
Robin Williams, aged 31, was driving a tractor at Thornby Grange Farm, and is on trial accused of causing Mr Cole’s death by careless driving.
Matthew Lowe, prosecuting, said Mr Cole spent the majority of 2009 receiving treatment for his injuries.
He was discharged from hospital in December 2009, but was re-admitted with respiratory difficulties within days, and died of pneumonia on Boxing Day, 2009.
Mr Lowe told the jury: “You will hear from two pathologists who will give evidence that the exact cause of death was pneumonia, which in turn was a direct consequence of the injuries he suffered on January 21, 2009. As Professor Guy Rutty puts it, quadriplegia renders an individual liable to a number of complications including pneumonia, associated with immobility and aspiration – unable to expel foreign bodies from the lungs.
“You will hear from a defence pathologist who will assert Mr Cole’s death is unconnected to what happened and the injuries sustained. That is one of the central issues you will have to consider. Another central issue you will have to grapple with is whether the defendant’s driving was without due care and attention.”
The jury heard from Mr Cole’s wife of 40 years, Terri, who described how her paralysed husband told her what had happened. She said: “His words had a profound effect upon me. He said ‘I think I know how it had happened. I felt a huge impact from behind and fell heavily to the ground and could not move.’ He said ‘I heard another tractor and thought it would run over me’.”
Mr Cole’s statement was then read to the jury. It stated: “I was aware I could not move. All I can remember is seeing people’s boots.”
He added: “I was not travelling at great speed and just cycling along at a normal pace. I’ve no explanation other than someone knocked me off my bike.”
Williams, of Welford Road, Thornby denies causing death by careless driving. The trial continues.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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