Dangerously fast Sheffield motorcyclist who collided with reveller on Ecclesall Road spared from more jail time

Sheffield Crown Court heard on December 18 how Ryan Young, aged 29, of Deer Park Road, Stannington, Sheffield, had been driving at speed along Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, when he collided with the pedestrian.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Young: “As you were driving along – you, on your motorcycle overtook a police car. I dare say, had you known it was a police car, you would not have done what you did. It was in fact an unmarked police car.

"I appreciate you had no L plates on your vehicle and thus you were to be stopped by the police.

"Accordingly, the officers activated the blue light and they followed you. You sped off. They very wisely discontinued their chase.

"When you were further up Eccelesall Road driving far too fast in the vicinity of the Marks and Spencer shop, a pedestrian who was himself under the influence of alcohol wandered into the road and you hit that 22-year-old man.”

Judge Richardson added the reveller suffered life-threatening injuries in his pelvic area as well as liver injuries and had to be treated in hospital for a number of weeks.

The court heard the reveller was a warehouseman but because of the nature of his injuries he could not continue working.

Young, who has previous convictions for driving offences and who also suffered a head injury after the collision, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous drivng followiing the incident on Bank Holiday Sunday, August 25, 2019.

Defence barrister Tayo Dasaolu said Young is a mechanic and has favourable references from his employer and he also has dependent children.

Young, who had been remanded into custody by Judge Richardson after a previous hearing on December 15, told the court about his brief spell behind bars.

He said: “It’s made me think twice about everything. It’s definitely a life-learned lesson. It’s not somewhere I want to be.”

Judge Richardson told Young: “You have had a taste of how dreadful prison is. You are fortunate you are not spending more time in there. The first few days are the worse and I do not doubt for a minute that the last four days have been extremely unpleasant for you. In many respects they should have been.”

He added: “The fact you have spent a few days in prison to reveal to you the full horror of a prison sentence has had a salutary effect upon you.”

Judge Richardson sentenced Young to 18 months of custody suspended for two years with a four-month curfew and a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Young was also disqualified from driving for two years.

But Judge Richardson warned Young if he fails to comply with the suspended sentence or commits another offence he can expect to go to prison.

He told Young: “One step out of line means you go straight to prison for 18 months.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor