A 50-year-old man has been spared jail after killing an army veteran, 91, in an e-bike collision.
Clifford Cage has become the first cyclist in British legal history to receive a manslaughter conviction for fatally striking a pedestrian.
He admitted to causing the death of great-grandfather James Blackwood, in Rochester, Kent.
The elderly victim was placing his rubbish bins outside his home when Cage’s electric bicycle collided with him on the pavement in July 2023.
CCTV footage presented during proceedings at Maidstone Crown Court depicted Cage travelling at “some speed” along the footpath in a residential area before the impact.
Mr Blackwood, a former Royal Engineer who had served in West Germany, Malaya and Northern Ireland during his military career, sustained bleeding on the brain and damage to his kidney.
He died nearly three months following the collision.
The court heard that Cage was moving at approximately 12mph at the moment of impact, though he was not cycling “madly” or “flat out”.
Mr Blackwood was a former Royal Engineer who had served in West Germany, Malaya and Northern Ireland
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His defence barrister, Danny Moore KC, told the court that his client, “unlike many in his situation”, stayed on at the scene.
Mr Moore added that the “practical reality of everyday life on the road means many cyclists at some point have ridden briefly on a pavement or shared path”.
In his emergency call to police, Cage said: “I hit him with my push bike. I didn’t see the guy. He stepped out from behind the tree.”
He also informed officers that his bicycle could reach speeds of 15mph and that he had chosen to use the pavement following “two near misses” that had frightened him.
CCTV footage presented during proceedings at Maidstone Crown Court depicted Cage travelling at ‘some speed’
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PAJudge Julian Smith handed down a 15-month custodial term, suspended for two years.
The judge noted that he had considered Cage’s decision to remain at the scene, his call to emergency services, and his expressions of remorse.
However, Judge Smith stated: “[He] made a choice to ride on the path… There are reasons it is illegal. He ignored those risks.”
Christine White, the victim’s daughter, embraced Cage as she departed the courtroom following sentencing.
She subsequently declared that pedestrians encounter a daily “lottery” regarding whether they will come across cyclists riding on pavements.
Ms White urged ministers to examine legislation governing e-bikes
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Ms White urged ministers to examine legislation governing e-bikes, noting that such vehicles can be altered to achieve speeds exceeding 70mph.
In her statement, she said: “For the first time in British legal history, a cyclist has been convicted for manslaughter for killing another human being… No longer can cyclists decide that they can leave the road and ride on our pavements, endangering pedestrians with impunity.”
She continued: “E-bikes are powerful vehicles, and I call on the Government to rethink the minimum age of those allowed to ride them.
“Most 14-year-olds have likely never read the Highway Code, yet can be let loose on public roads with possibly zero experience or knowledge.”
Ms White proposed mandatory training and potential licensing requirements for cyclists without driving licences, alongside raising the minimum riding age from 14 to 16.
Mr Blackwood left the armed forces in 1972 and subsequently worked at a power station on the Isle of Grain in Kent, as well as in Saudi Arabia, before settling in Rochester in 1985.
Legislation currently progressing through Parliament would bring cycling offences into alignment with motoring offences.
An amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill would mean cyclists who cause deaths through dangerous riding could face life imprisonment.