Speeding hit-and-run Leeds biker on stolen motorbike seriously injured woman

Leeds Crown Court heard Patrick King ploughed into the 29-year-old woman as she crossed York Road near Seacroft Grange care home at Seacroft with her grandmother.

The woman, who has learning difficulties, suffered a catalogue of injuries when she was struck at around 6pm on December 11 2019.

They included a brain haemorrhage, a broken left leg, multiple rib fractures, multiple pelvic fractures and a lacerated kidney and spleen.

She was in intensive care for 12 days and in hospital for four weeks.

Prosecutor, Michael Morley said King, who suffered a broken hand in the collision, fled the scene on foot and was arrested the following day.

Mr Morley said when King was arrested he asked police: "I don't care about me, is she alright?"

In his police interview, King claimed he was being chased by an Audi driver after the bike was involved in collision with the Audi, causing the bike's lights to go out.

King, of Kendal Drove, Halton, told police he had been travelling at around 40mph in the 30mph zone when he struck the woman on York Road at its junction with Hansby Gate

Mr Morley said King was riding a stolen motorcycle on false number plates and did not have a driving licence or insurance.

The court heard the lights on the bike King was riding were switched off and he was wearing dark clothing.

A Mercedes driver who saw King on the motorbike noticed he didn't have the lights switched on and tried to alert him.

King admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance.

He has a string of previous convictions for offences including numerous burglaries, robbery, arson, theft, aggravated vehicle taking, driving while uninsured and without a licence.

In a victim personal statement, the woman's mother said her daughter can only walk by using a walking frame and does not sleep well, adding: "She will wake up screaming saying 'the monsters are coming.'"

The mother added in the statement: "She may recover from her physical injuries, but the psycholigical damage will be very difficult to repair."

Stephen Welford, mitigating said: "By far the greatest mitigation is his guilty plea."

Jailing King for three years, Judge Tom Bayliss QC told him: "The poor woman had enough problems. She has now lost all confidence and her family now have to have a rota to look after."

King was banned from driving for four-and-a-half-years.