Woman suffered truly horrific injuries in Stretton motorbike crash

Benjamin Shields was riding the motorbike with the woman on the back as a passenger – having removed his L plates and not being permitted to carry a passenger.

As a result of the 30-year-old’s appalling driving, involving speeding and weaving between vehicles, she suffered multiple leg fractures, as well as a broken hip, ankle and foot.

He was subsequently charged with causing serious injury by careless driving, a charge on which he was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday.

Prosecuting, Nardeen Nemat told the court that the crash occurred on April 20 last year, on London Road in Stretton.

The defendant and the victim had been in an on-and-off relationship at the time, and he was the owner of a Yamaha motorbike with a provisional motorbike licence.

This licence did not permit him to carry a pillion passenger on the back, however he and the complainant agreed to go on his bike for some dinner that day.

At around midday, Shields removed his L plates from the back of the bike and drove to McDonald’s in Altrincham, with the complainant on the back.

The court heard that both were wearing helmets, but while Shields was wearing full protective clothing, the passenger was not.

They left McDonald’s between 2pm and 2.30pm on the motorbike, taking country roads through Lymm and stopping off at Lymm Services before heading towards Stretton.

Police closed the road following the crash

The court heard that the complainant asked the defendant to slow down on the country roads as she felt ‘uncomfortable’.

Approaching Stretton at around 6pm, traffic was said to be heavy on Tarporley Road, with Shields swerving between three or four vehicles in the middle of the road and overtaking around six.

It was said that at one point, the passenger was so scared for her safety that she closed her eyes, before opening them a short time later.

Traffic was said to be at a standstill as the road becomes London Road, with the traffic lights on red.

A car driver reported hearing a motorbike approaching and saw Shields overtake her own and four other vehicles, fail to notice a central bollard, swerve at the last second and hit the back of a car turning onto Stretton Road.

CCTV footage from a building overlooking the junction was played in court, showing the motorbike hit the back of a white Volkswagen Golf, causing the rear bumper to fall off.

The pair were thrown from the motorbike, with the passenger taken to Aintree Hospital by an air ambulance dispatched to the scene, having been helped by a passing nurse and off-duty police officer.

She suffered a fracture to her upper left leg and two fractures to the lower leg as well as fractures to her hip, ankle and foot, requiring surgical pins which will be needed for life.

She spent two spells in hospital and around six weeks in total. Shields also suffered a broken arm in the crash.

Benjamin Shields was sentenced at Chester Crown Court

Attending court in person using crutches, the victim read out her impact statement in person and said her leg is getting ‘weaker and weaker’, and she requires the help of four care assistants who come to help her twice a day.

Her left leg is now shorter than her right, she has arthritis, has been receiving physiotherapy and struggles with her mobility.

Moreover, the mum-of-two is currently pregnant and has to undergo a c-section birth due to her leg mobility.

“I used to feel independent, but my freedom has been taken away from me. I rarely leave the house anymore except for medical treatment. I feel like I am essentially bed-bound,” she said.

She also detailed the financial impact, as she has to have food deliveries as she cannot carry shopping, adding: “I would love to get a job, but I think it would be difficult for someone to take me on.

Ms Nemat told the court that the damage caused to the car Shields hit was valued at approximately £5,000, with the driver having to pay a £150 excess, while her premium has also doubled.

When speaking to police, the defendant accepted taking his L plates off, and that he was not insured to carry a passenger, as well as speeding, but only a few miles an hour over the limit, adding that it was ‘nothing major’.

He also initially blamed the driver of the car he hit, but later said he was sorry.

Ms Nemat told the court that his manner of driving fell ‘just below’ the standard required for the more serious charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

An air ambulance was dispatched to the scene

In mitigation, defence counsel Jeremy Rawson referenced how his client has no previous convictions and is a man ‘with his own difficulties’, having been diagnosed with ADHD and ‘possibly autism’

“He is remorseful as to what occurred, and his guilty pleas are a full expression of that remorse,” Mr Rawson said.

He added that Shields poses a ‘low risk of reoffending’ and is a ‘realistic prospect for rehabilitation’, with the barrister calling for a suspended sentence.

Judge Michael Leeming said: “The victim suffered permanent and irreversible injuries, and I am satisfied this will have a substantial and long-term effect on her ability to carry out day-to-day activities such as walking and working.”

However, he added: “I am satisfied in this case there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and the sentence will be suspended.”

Shields, of Bexhill Avenue in Orford, was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for 18 months.

The defendant must also undertake 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 200 hours of unpaid work and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months and must pass an extended driving test before getting behind the wheel again.

In addition, the court imposed a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim for the next 10 years, which the judge said was necessary to allow the victim to ‘move on with her life’ and to protect her from ‘harassment’.