An uninsured teenage motorcyclist who killed a dog walker avoided jail because of prison overcrowding, a court heard.
CJ Fitt, 17, was described as riding his Yamaha 125cc motorcycle like an “idiot” as he overtook cars and drove at 50 mph in a 30 mph area before hitting Lucy Machin, 55, on a pedestrian crossing.
He hit Mrs Machin while riding his motorbike for the first time on a public road at around 7.15am on Nov 22 2022 in Norwich, the court heard. Mrs Machin later died in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, from a “catastrophic” head injury.
Fitt, a scaffolder who is now aged 18, initially denied causing death by careless driving but changed his plea to guilty before a trial. He also admitted a charge of causing death by driving while uninsured.
Judge Andrew Shaw who described the case as “a terrible tragedy” gave him a nine-month sentence in a young offenders’ institution suspended for two years at Norwich Crown Court.
Fitt was also ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work, banned from driving for three years and told to take an extended driving test before getting his licence back.
The judge told him: “Although it might be said that causing someone’s death by careless driving is so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is justified, in the case of someone as young as you, it is too superficial an analysis.
“I have to weigh in your age, the state of overcrowding in the prison estate, and how long you would serve if sent to a young offenders’ institution.”
The court heard that Mrs Machin, who worked as a counsellor, had been married and had a 15-year-old stepson. She was described as a talented musician, and had played the violin for the National Youth Orchestra before being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1989.
Prosecutor Lynne Shirley said she had lived with her “debilitating illness” for many years, and that her daily walk with her dog Rosie had become part of her exercise regime to help deal with it.
Fitt had owned his motorcycle for nearly three months before the accident and had passed his basic test, but had not previously ridden it on the road because he had not paid for insurance, and was saving up for it.
Ms Shirley said he had ridden the bike to work on the morning of the crash because his father, who usually took him, had had an accident in his car the day before and was unable to drive him.
Motorist David Creed described being overtaken by Fitt in “horrible” rainy and overcast conditions.
Mr Creed said in a statement that he noticed the L plate as the bike came “roaring past” him.
Mr Creed said: “I remember thinking ‘you idiot’ because of the road and weather conditions, and him coming up to the lights on a left hand bend. The visibility was not that great because of the drizzle.”
Fitt told police that he had little memory of the crash, but he admitted that he had no insurance and knew he should have had it.
Mrs Machin’s husband Robert described her as a “generous, compassionate and loving mum” who dealt with her rheumatoid arthritis with a mixture of “humour, intelligence, prescribed medication and exercise”.
In a victim impact statement which he read to the court, he added that she had been “risk averse” due to her illness meaning any bumps and bruises she suffered were long-lasting, and was “attentive” of her surroundings.
He said that her death had a “brutal” effect on him and his son Joe who was then aged 15, and he believed that it had contributed to the death of her “heartbroken” father a few months later.
Mr Machin said after the hearing that he was grateful for the efforts of police in securing camera footage which showed how fast Fitt was riding and resulted in him changing his plea to guilty.
He added: “There was no sense of anger or revenge. To be honest the sentence was not the key thing. For me the relief came when he pleaded guilty, and we knew we would get a day in court. I was happy with what the judge said, and also the reactions of the defendant and his family.”
