A Swindon man with no licence crashed his motorcycle into a car whilst under the influence of cannabis, a court heard.
Jordon Dodson, 27, was left with significant injuries after inadvertently somersaulting over a Volkswagen Golf that pulled out of a car park in Pinehurst Road in August last year.
Paramedics rushed the rider to hospital with a broken pelvis and left arm, where police officers later obtained a sample of blood for drug and alcohol testing.
Appearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the defendant pleaded guilty to drug driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and possession of cannabis.
Crown prosecutor Keith Ballinger said Dodson had been travelling over the speed limit before colliding with a car pulling into the path of his 20-year-old 600cc Yamaha R6 motorcycle at around 9.30pm on 13 August 2020.
As a result of the impact, he was thrown over the vehicle and landed in the road beyond the car. Officers investigating the crash attended the hospital and obtained a specimen of blood from the casualty.
The blood samples showed the level of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to be 2.9 ug/L – 0.9ug/L over the legal limit.
Later down the line, during a police interview, the defendant admitted his wrongdoing and accepted he shouldn’t have been riding and was going faster than 30mph. He also accepted he was in possession of a small amount of cannabis.
Defence solicitor Emma Thacker told the court her client couldn’t have done anything to prevent the collision. He accepts he shouldn’t have been riding, but says the car pulled out of the parking area onto the wrong side of the road.
She described CCTV footage of the incident as “shocking”, adding that she is “surprised he is here today”.
Dodson still hasn’t recovered from his injuries, and has only just learned to walk again, Ms Thacker said. Adding: “This gentleman has been punished enough.”
The motorcycle was owned by Dodson, who paid £2,000 for it and was doing it up. On the night of the collision, he had ridden it to attend a shop and cashpoint.
Ms Thacker added that the car driver involved was told to take a driver awareness course but has not been prosecuted.
“I’ve spoken to him about taking civil action reference the crash, however, he has accepted there are criminal offences there and he accepts he has done wrong”, she commented.
Taking into account Dodson’s ongoing health issues as a result of the incident, magistrates fined him £440, imposed a £34 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
