A young passenger who filmed a shocking north Cumbria hit and run which left a pedestrian with a fractured skull has been sentenced.
Two teens — the driver of an Audi and his passenger — were originally charged with attempted murder after a deliberate collision which occurred on Carlisle Road in Brampton on August 19.
CCTV showed the Audi perform a U-turn. It crossed briefly on to the wrong side of the road and then struck at speed Harvey Oliver, then aged 19, who had his back to the vehicle and was walking away.
He suffered a suspected fractured skull and was assisted by passers-by before being transported to hospital. The damaged vehicle was later found at a scrapyard.
Both the young driver and passenger, then aged 15 and now 16, later admitted the lesser charge of attempting to cause Mr Oliver grievous bodily harm with intent.
The driver — who had also hit Mr Oliver with a car in a copycat earlier incident last May, leaving him with a broken leg — was sentenced to a youth detention and training order at Carlisle Crown Court earlier his month. It was an issue between the driver and Mr Oliver that lay at the heart of the case, a judge heard.
The passenger was punished at the city’s youth court today.
Prosecutor Lee Dacre said video footage of the incident, with audio, was found on that teen’s mobile phone. “You can’t hear anyone trying to prevent the collision and can’t hear the passenger trying to discourage the driver from doing what he was doing,” said Mr Dacre.
During today’s hearing, District Judge John Temperley considered a pre-sentence report and several positive character references from people shocked by the passenger’s conduct on that day.
Defence lawyer Edgar Fernando said of the youth: “He is really trying to turn his life around.”
The youth told the judge: “I am really regretful for getting in that car in the first place. I really want to show this remorse to the victim.” His request for a face-to-face meeting will be considered, the court heard.
Mr Temperley imposed a 12-month referral order through which the teen will work with a youth offending team to rehabilitate.
“You need to learn from this mistake and the poor decision-making that day,” the judge told the youth, who lives in the Eden Valley. “You need to be particularly careful about who you mix with and who you befriend as you grow up. Take this opportunity.”
