Driver who seriously hurt motorcyclist has appeal thrown out

Wednesday 09 October 2024

The Royal Court has declined to lift a ban on a driver who hit a motorcyclist last year – leaving him with broken bones in his hand and needing surgery.

Maria Adelaide Teixeira de Freitas Gomes (58) had her six-month disqualification from driving maintained after appealing her sentence.

She was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court on 4 July this year. She was fined £2,000 and disqualified from driving for six months, after which she was told she would need to retake her driving test.

Gomes had, on 5 October 2023, pulled out in front of a motorcyclist on Route du Sud in St Brelade. The motorcyclist had no time to stop and crashed into the car.

He broke or dislocated four metacarpal bones – the bones which support the hand – and needed surgery. He stayed in hospital for four days and has permanent metal plates and screws in his hand.

Pictured: The appeal was heard in the Royal Court.

During a police interview, Gomes initially did not want to admit that she was responsible, but ultimately admitted that the collision was her fault and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

When she was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court on 4 July 2024, the court heard that she needed her driving licence in order to work as a cleaner, and that she "deeply regretted" the incident. The defence argued that the incident had been "a momentary lapse of concentration or misjudgement".

Magistrate Bridget Shaw considered the offence to be "Category A" - the least serious possible - but said the offence was aggravated by the seriousness and complexity. 

Gomes should have seen the motorcyclist, she said. 

Gomes appeared in the Royal Court last week to appeal against the disqualification from driving.

Advocate Rui Tremoceiro, representing Gomes, said the sentence was excessive as "there was nothing particularly serious in the injury sustained by the motorcyclist, they were not life-threatening or life-changing".

In their judgment, which was published this week, the Court explained that it had taken into account that the motorcyclist had a permanent metal plate and screws inserted.

But, the Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, presiding, found that the Magistrate "was entitled to say what she did".

The Court of Appeal only changes sentences from the Magistrate's Court if they are "manifestly excessive". The Deputy Bailiff decided that Gomes's sentence was "within the range" of sentences available considering what had happened.

They dismissed the appeal.

The Jurats sitting were Michael Entwistle and Michael Berry.