Careless driver causes off-duty paramedic catastrophic injuries

A driver caused a biker catastrophic and life-changing injuries when she pulled out of a junction without looking properly, a court has heard. Paramedic Sean Luby was thrown from his Honda in the crash and suffered serious brain injuries and a catalogue of broken bones and damaged organs.

Charlotte Harding was driving home from her parent’s house when she failed to see the motorcyclist and pulled out in front of him. The injured biker said the crash had ruined his life, and said he could not understand why Harding had not seen him.

Hannah George, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court^[1] that at around 5.15pm on January 29 last year 65-year-old paramedic Mr Luby was riding his Honda bike along Steynton Road in Milford Haven. She said it was dusk and the biker had the headlight of his Honda illuminated. As the biker rode along the main road the defendant pulled out of a side road in front of him in her Audi A3 with the intention of turning right. The prosecutor said the paramedic carried out emergency breaking and swerved into the middle of the road to try to avoid the Audi but collided with Harding’s vehicle and was thrown from his machine.

The court heard off-duty nurses and firefighters who were at the scene rushed to help the stricken motorbiker who was laying unconscious on the carriageway. Mr Luby went into cardiac arrest and the nurses and firefighters cleared his airways and took it in turns to do CPR on the casualty until an ambulance arrived. The biker was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales^[4] in Cardiff^[5] where he was placed in a medically induced coma, put on a ventilator, and was given blood and plasma transfusions.

Meanwhile Harding had remained at the scene of the crash and was spoken to by police. She told officers she had “looked and looked again” but had not seen the motorcycle. She said she felt something hitting her vehicle and her children started screaming.

The court heard the paramedic suffered a catalogue of catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injuries, fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, collapsed lung, smashed facial bones, an open fracture to the wrist, and injuries to his kidney and spleen, and was in a critical condition. He later required facial reconstruction surgery and spent a total of two months in the University Hospital of Wales before being transferred to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen^[6]. In April 2023 he was moved to Neath^[7] Port Talbot^[8] Hospital for neuro-rehabilitation. The prosecutor said Mr Luby now has limited mobility, impaired vision, experiences chronic pain and speaks with a stutter, and will be dependant on third-party care “for the foreseeable future”.

In an impact statement which was read to the court by the prosecutor, Mr Luby said his life had been “turned upside down” by the crash and said he could not understand why the driver had not seen him. He said he is unable to return to being a paramedic – a job he loved – and has had to move from what should have been his “forever home” to a bungalow that was better suited for his mobility problems. Mr Luby said he was now unable to walk or drive and was on daily medication, adding his whole family have been impacted by the crash. In his statement he said people may have thought his life before the crash was “boring and normal” but he would take that life back “in a heartbeat”, and said the events of January 29 last year had “ruined” his life.

The court heard Harding attended a first voluntary interview at Haverfordwest police station in February 2024 followed by a second interview on March 30. In her interviews she said she was “mortified” at what had happened and accepted the collision was her fault and that she had “not looked long enough or heard enough at the junction”. The defendant was charged via postal requisition on May 2. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here^[9]

Charlotte Harding, 38, of Murray Road, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire^[10], had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. She has no previous convictions and prior to her conviction held a clean driving licence.

Ian Bridge, for Harding, said the defendant had been “broken” by what she had done. He said his client had written a letter to the court in which she said she wanted to express how sorry she was, and said if she could turn the clock back she would stay a little longer at her parent’s house before driving off with her children, meaning her and Mr Luby’s paths would never have crossed.

The barrister said the defendant held a responsible job with a local authority and had been in the Territorial Army logistics corps where she had been training to be a HGV driver. He added that Harding had an exemplary driving record until the day in question and she still struggles to understand how she did what she did, having looked before pulling out of the junction.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said “tragic” was a word that was often overused but it could properly describe the case before him. He said the crash has been “nothing short of catastrophic” for Mr Luby and it was only the “heroic” actions of those who tended to him at the scene that had saved his life. He said the collision has had a profound impact on Mr Luby and his family, and said he has been left with life-changing injuries.

Judge Thomas told Harding the reality was she “simply ought to have seen” the oncoming biker, and she should not have pulled out of the junction until she was sure it was safe to to do. He said as a judge he spends his time sentencing people who have deliberately committed criminal offences, but in this case the defendant had been careless.

Following the sentencing guidelines and with a one-quarter discount for her guilty plea, Harding was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and 150 hours of unpaid work. The defendant was also banned from driving for 12 months.

Judge Thomas said he knew that no sentence could ever “undo the terrible consequences” of the collision, and he expressed his sympathy to Mr Luby, adding he hoped he would made the maximum physical and psychological recovery that he could. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here^[11]

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References

1. ^{^} Swansea Crown Court (www.walesonline.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Scammer stole details of tens of thousands of drivers involved in accidents and sold them to personal injury lawyers (www.walesonline.co.uk)
3. ^{^} The moment man sends gun video threatening to ‘spray’ people with bullets (www.walesonline.co.uk)
4. ^{^} University Hospital of Wales (www.walesonline.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Cardiff (www.walesonline.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Carmarthen (www.walesonline.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Neath (www.walesonline.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Port Talbot (www.walesonline.co.uk)
9. ^{^} For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here (www.walesonline.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Pembrokeshire (www.walesonline.co.uk)
11. ^{^} For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here (www.walesonline.co.uk)