A man riding an e-bike fled to France after ploughing into a six-year-old girl, and leaving his victim seriously injured in the street.
Lewis Lally, 24, had a suspended prison sentence hanging over him when he drove "at full pelt" into a six-year-old girl on Windsor Road, Tuebrook, on March 4 this year. Harrowing footage of the crash was played at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, June 14, which showed the child get hit by the e-bike and lifted into the air by the force of the impact.
Frank Dillon, prosecuting, said the incident was witnessed by a woman walking her dog heading towards West Derby Road.
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She noticed what she thought was a black scrambler bike coming towards her though it was actually an e-bike. The rider was all in black, wearing a balaclava but not a helmet and with a mobile phone held to his left ear as he passed her.
She believed it was travelling ‘at a faster speed than normal’ and "that is a considerable understatement," said Mr Dillon. "He was travelling "at an inordinately high speed.".
He continued: "At that moment a young girl was coming from the opposite side of the road. In a split second the young girl was hit by the bike and was lifted off the floor by the impact, before landing hard on the ground.
"The bike and rider had fallen over due to the impact and had slid a fair distance up the road. Straight away, the rider got up, picked up the bike and rode off towards the main road."
The witness dialled 999 and she assisted the victim along with passers-by and the child’s grandmother. Three video clips were played to the court, the first showing the e-bike whizzing along the road at very high speed, the second showing the impact and the last one showing him making off from the scene.
The little girl was rushed to Alder Hey Hospital and she was found to be agitated and was sedated and put on ventilation until the next day. She had suffered a fractured skull, but did not need surgery, and she also had multiple grazes to her body.
She was released from hospital on March 10 and has apparently recovered physically but has been left emotionally affected. The bike has never been found but police officers recovered the back of a mobile phone and his DNA profile was found on it, said Mr Dillon.
The court heard 24-year-old Lally caught a ferry to France the next day with another man on his way to Barcelona and after numerous attempts to locate him he was eventually arrested in Widnes on March 27.
Mr Dillon said Lally, of Belvoir Road, Widnes, has five previous offences involving possessing cannabis, failing to provide a specimen and possessing cannabis with intent to supply, for which he received ten months imprisonment suspended for two years in May 2020.
He made no comment when interviewed and when appearing in magistrates court, he denied being involved but pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he first appeared in the crown court in April.
Jailing Lally for a total of two and a half years Judge Brian Cummings, QC described the CCTV footage as “shocking.”
He said that whether he was actually using his mobile phone at the time of impact or just before made no difference. “You plainly were not paying proper attention to the roadway.
He added: "You hit this little girl at full pelt. The impact occurred just off screen but the consequences are clearly seen on the footage. She is seen sliding along the roadway for a significant distance, stopping only when her head collides with the kerb.”
The judge said he accepted he had a wretched childhood but pointed out he had adversely affected the childhood of his victim.
He told Lally: "I cannot accept there is any great remorse on your part. Your first instinct despite what you had done to this innocent little girl was to save your own skin and try to avoid the consequences."
Judge Cummings sentenced him to two years three months for the offence and activated three months of his suspended sentence to run consecutively. He also banned him from driving for three years.
Michael Bagley, defending, read a letter that Lally has written to his victim and her family in which said he was "sorry and shocked" by his actions.
The letter read: "I should have stayed, I panicked, I was in shock and very bad pain, I broke my ankle. I hope you are ok and recover well."
Mr Bagley said the defendant had a "wretched upbringing" with both parents heroin addicts and his father, for whom he now cares, left home when Lally was 12. Lally lived with his girlfriend’s parents from then and later went to college to get building qualifications.
He developed a cannabis habit which led to him dealing and receiving the suspended sentence. He found his mum dead at home last August and “he accepts from that point forward his mind simply was not right".
He has been in custody since his arrest and has spoken to a priest and hopes to receive counselling. Mr Bagley said the trip to Barcelona was arranged before the incident and he returned to this country.
He added Lally said he was using his mobile phone before the collision but not at the point of impact.
