Pavement cyclist let off after knocking over girl

The teenager was given just the official warning from the Crown Prosecution Service for cycling along the pavement and colliding with Abigail Murray (four).

The lawyers said his age of 15-and-a-half meant they did not want to pursue him further. He did not even receive the 30 fixed penalty notice which cyclists can get from the police for illegally riding their bikes on pavements.

Abigail's father, Stewart Murray, said this week: "I am very disappointed with the CPS' decision. All the cyclist received was a caution for cycling on the pavement.

"It wasn't even a caution for fracturing a four-and-a-half year old girl's skull. What sort of a deterrent is that? When the cyclist talks to his friends about what's happened, they will think he has got away with it.

"They will think it's OK to cycle on the pavement and knock a young girl over. If he had been forced to pay a big fine, and had to sell his bike to do that, then it would perhaps make them think twice.

"What has happened just confirms what my family have always thought about the British justice system. We feared all the way along that nothing would happen.

"We never wanted the cyclist hung, drawn and quartered but he should have suffered some penalty for what he did."

It was on Tuesday, June 19, last year that Abigail came within a few inches of being killed on the pavement in Aldwick Road. She had just crossed the carriageway with her mother, Donna (28) and her sisters Chloe (11) and Imogen (18 months).

Abigail had just stepped onto the pavement outside a pet shop on the south side of the road when the cyclist, who has never been publicly identified, collided with her.

Mr Murray claimed Abigail was thrown into the air by the force of the accident and landed on her head. Scans at St Richard's Hospital showed she had a fractured skull above her left eye. She also had a blood leak between the eye and her meninges.

A further blood leak developed and worried doctors were ready to transfer her to Southampton General Hospital until her condition suddenly improved. They said her injuries were consistent with a GBH attack. She was discharged on the Friday.

The cyclist walked into Bognor police station two days after the accident to help with the police's inquiries. He had stopped immediately after the accident only to cycle away.

Mr Murray is a sailor, working in Gosport, and was staying in Bognor with a family friend, Phil Mortimer, when the accident occured.

Mr Mortimer said: "Whenever I go out, I still see cyclists going along pavements. I am sure that everyone does. So, it seems as if nothing has happened in regard to this issue.

"I've raised the matter at various police meetings, and I've been assured they are committed to tackling the issue, but nothing seems to be done.

"Abigail was really badly hurt and yet the CPS have decided to do nothing.

"A child was put in hospital because of someone's stupid and illegal behaviour. If that's not a clear cut case for a prosecution, I don't know what is."

Abigail (4) could face brain surgery

THE four-year-old girl knocked over by a pavement cyclist in Aldwick could face brain surgery.

Abigail Murray, pictured here after the accident, could have to endure the major operation because doctors are concerned about the condition of her skull.

The worrying news for the young girl from Dumbarton and her family emerged on Tuesday.

She was taken by her mother, Donna Murray, for an MRI scan in hospital as a follow-up to the collision last June.

Abigail's dad, Stewart Murray, said it was unclear how serious Abigail's condition was and the treatment she might need.

"The doctors reckon that Abigail's brain has not healed at all. The bleeding has not cleared up behind her eye," he explained.

"She has been sent to see a specialist in Glasgow for a full MRI scan. They will be putting out as if she was having surgery.

"They want to get the next scan done quite quickly. No-one was expecting that. Everyone was hoping that she would have been healed by now," he said.

"The doctors on Tuesday couldn't believe how Abigail had been injured. They said her injuries were like those from a car crash.

"I expect the cyclist who did this is still cycling around on the pavement without giving a second thought to the fact that the girl he knocked over could now be facing surgery on her brain."

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