Moment cyclist is nearly paralysed after drug driver smashes into him
Footage shows the shocking moment a drug driver crashed into a cyclist at traffic lights.
Drug driver Danial Arshad’s decision to overtake another car at a red light changed the life of a man forever.
Arshad, 24, has avoided jail after smashing into cyclist Nicholas Cooper and almost paralysing him.
He appeared in court after driving under the influence of cannabis in Blackburn, Lancashire, in August 2023 when he hit Mr Cooper, MailOnline reports.
CCTV footage shows how the 24-year-old gets impatient behind an unmoving car at traffic lights before he suddenly swerves around the vehicle to take over at the junction.
Mr Cooper appeared to be cycling on the oncoming lane and had just got through the junction when Arshad smashed into him head-on.
CCTV footage shows how Mr Cooper flies over the car after being hit, landing in the middle of the road where he is left convulsing in agony as Arshad disappears from view.
The police said in a statement following the August crash that the driver ‘stopped around the corner and was subsequently arrested by the police.’
‘Fortunate not to have died’
Mr Cooper, who was a professional cyclist before the crash, suffered serious injuries.
He was left with rib and spine fractures and a collapsed lung.
The Judge Richard Gioserano told Preston Crown Court Mr Cooper was ‘fortunate not to have died’ that day.
During his time at the hospital, he faced a severe risk of paralysis, the outlet reports.
The crash left him feeling like he ‘partially died in the incident’ and he is ‘mourning the loss of who I was before,’ Mr Cooper said in a statement.
Arshad avoided jail time after his appearance at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to causing a serious injury by careless driving and he was given a 10-month suspended sentence along with requirements including 15 days of rehabilitation activity and 300 hours of unpaid work.
Arshad was also banned from driving for three years and he has to complete his test again to get his licence back.
His lawyers said in mitigation that Arshad showed remorse of what he did by describing it as ‘the worst mistake of my life.’
Judge Gioserano said: ‘Mr Cooper was very fortunate not to have died, and this was of course a very severe impact and all because you were impatient to get around a car that had stalled at the lights.
‘Your view was restricted by the car that had stalled, and you were under the influence to some extent of cannabis.
‘You are of previous good character, and you are genuinely remorseful, and you continue to demonstrate that.’
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