A delivery driver who caused a crash that left a cyclist with a fractured neck has been fined and lost his job.
The woman cyclist was in a cycle lane riding across a junction in Tadcaster Road, York, when Florin Varga’s DPD van tried to turn right and hit her on April 23, said Kay Barnard, prosecuting at the city’s magistrates court.
The collision knocked her off her bicycle, breaking bones in her neck and a week later she had to undergo surgery to repair the bones with metal plates. She also suffered rib injuries.
District judge Adrian Lower said a car travelling in the same direction as the cyclist and in the opposite direction to Varga had flashed its lights to indicate he could make the turn.
“What you didn’t know, and I am sure the other motorist didn’t know, is that (the cyclist) was on a push bike on the other side of that vehicle,” he told Varga.
“Instead of waiting to make sure that the road was clear, you committed yourself to turn into the road to your right.”
Varga, of Raley Drive, Barnsley, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving.
After reading a probation report which he said indicated probation officers did not believe their assistance was needed, the judge fined Varga £650 and ordered him to pay a £260 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
He also banned Varga from driving for 12 months. Defence barrister Harriet Eglinton said Varga had lost his job because he could not drive.
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Ms Barnard said Tadcaster Road has cycle lanes on both sides of the single carriageway.
Varga was driving towards the city centre and the cyclist was cycling the other way. The crash happened when he tried to turn right into Middlethorpe Drive.
Ms Eglinton said after the crash Varga had stayed at the scene and called the emergency services.
He had been the main driver for his household. His wife, a nurse who didn’t drive, now had problems getting to work because she worked night shifts at a hospital and couldn't use public transport because of where they lived.
Varga was currently without any income, as he wasn’t claiming benefits and didn’t have a job. He was looking for work in a warehouse and if he didn’t succeed, he would have to claim universal credit.
She handed in a letter from Varga and one from his wife in which she detailed the effect his sacking had had on their household’s finances. The wife worked part-time, said the barrister.
The judge accepted that Varga was remorseful and regretted the crash, for which he accepted responsibility.
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