Two drivers have been sentenced for inflicting severe harm by hazardous driving after one of them collided into a cyclist who was out on a ride with his family, leaving him with a fractured neck, according to a police officer.
According to Hampshire Police, Thomas Lycett, 21, of Totton near Southampton, and Jacob Reginald Titt, 23, of Ringwood near the New Forest, were driving at speeds of up to 100mph on a 40mph road soon before the collision (link is external).
Titt collided with 45-year-old Thomas Watt, who was on a bike ride with his wife and two young girls, when he came around a curve on the A36 Salisbury Road in Totton.
The crash, which happened at 2pm on Sunday 11 October 2020, left Mr Watt with what police described as “life-changing injuries,” including two fractured vertebrae in his neck, plus fractures to his right ankle, right ribs and right shoulder blade.
Appearing at Southampton Crown Court yesterday, both Titt and Lycett pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Titt was handed an 18 month prison sentence and banned from driving for three years and nine months, while Lycett was jailed for 14 months and disqualified from driving for three years and seven months.
After the pair were sentenced, Detective Constable Mark Furse, of Hampshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “Titt and Lycett were driving so fast they are lucky to have not killed someone. It was a matter of pure luck that neither of the children were struck by either car as well.
“Mr Watt will now have to live with the injuries they caused by their reckless and selfish actions.
“Speed limits are there for a reason and to exceed them by this much – more than double in some parts of the roads they were driving on – caused a huge risk to themselves and other innocent road users.
“This case highlights the dangers posed by inexperienced drivers who decide to use the roads like a racetrack and drive way beyond their capabilities. The rules of the road are there for a reason and apply to all drivers.
“Please think of other more vulnerable road users before making the decision to drive in such a dangerous and selfish manner,” he added.
