2018-06-14 Rider down, Stapleton Road, Tooting (attack by driver using his car as a weapon)

Another one of those 'crashes' that doesn't seem to have been reported on initially. The driver attacked the victim with his car and was convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but acquitted of GBH with intent.

Judge Brown said Choonka, who showed no remorse, had “used his car as a weapon effectively”.

(...)

The court heard that Mr Perrott, who had been cycling in London for 33 years, remonstrated with Choonka when he pulled out of a junction and nearly hit him as he cycled in Stapleton Road, Tooting, on June 14 last year.

Mr Perrott, who had dismounted, was then hit by the car and crushed against a parked BMW. Choonka drove off but returned to take pictures of Mr Perrott as he lay critically injured on the ground. Choonka did not call an ambulance. He told the court he had no idea why the car had moved forward.

(My emphasis.)

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/london-cyclist-blasts-30month-sentence-for-motorist-who-used-car-as-weapon-a4261701.html

This seems to have resulted in very serious disability for Craig Perrott so that he now needs to be cared for by his wife.

Mr Perrott was taken to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, where he underwent two operations to keep him alive. He was transferred to St Thomas’s hospital, Lambeth, six days later to be placed on an ECMO life-support machine.

He was fitted with four titanium ribs and a titanium pelvis to replace obliterated bones. Mr Perrott spent 17 weeks in three hospitals and remains in chronic pain. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and is unable to work. He is pursuing a civil compensation claim against Choonka’s insurers.

I hope he manages to get better. What a despicable attack.

I have no knowledge of the UK legal system(s) and prosecution (or whether this is a relevant comment - can be removed if deemed not appropriate), but what is stopping this being treated as attempted murder?

I hope that Mr Perrott makes the best recovery possible.

This is awful. I used to work with his partner. She suddenly disappeared, now I know why. 'Ms Harvie, who has given up a job in the City to become Mr Perrott’s carer, said: “What continues to cause huge and unnecessary stress is the defendant’s refusal to take responsibility. Our lives now consist of trying to put a broken man back together on a daily basis.”

what is stopping this being treated as attempted murder?

He was acquitted of causing GBH with intent by the jury. Given the applicable legal test, they would also have acquitted him on an attempted murder charge. Juries don't like convicting people who kill or maim using vehicles. It seems that a significant proportion of people in this country consider that killing or maiming someone with a vehicle only deserves a slap on the wrist.