Motorcyclist sentenced for crash that threw him into the sky

Thursday 10 January 2019

A motorcyclist has been given some degree of sympathy in court, as he was sentenced for driving without due care and attention.

Zachery Patralia, 19, caused a crash on Braye Road on 2 October last year - but Judge Cherry McMillan acknowledged the entire incident was an accident, and due to a momentary lapse in his "usually sound" decision making.

He was taken off the roads for two months and fined £300 after he pled guilty to a charge of undue care.

The crash happened when Petralia overtook a car going along Braye Road because it was moving too slowly. The court heard he thought staying behind it would have been dangerous thanks to its heavy brake usage, so he manoeuvred around the vehicle. But as he came back to his side of the road now in front of the car, Petralia realised another car was pulling across the road into the Lowlands Junction.

He took evasive action, but clipped the back of this car with his motorbike, before swerving into a third vehicle. 

He was allegedly launched around 8m into the sky, and suffered a broken leg, fractured wrist and multiple other injuries when he landed on the road. 

Judge McMillan said pictures of the incident showed how bad the crash was, as the bike was destroyed, but she also acknowledged Petralia has been driving on the roads for nearly five years now - using scooters - and called this a lapse in his usually sound decision making when it came to driving.

Petralia's defence lawyer, Advocate Chris Green, said his client worked as a community nurse in their rapid response unit, and that any time off the roads would affect his job. However his client is currently not in a fit state to drive because of his injuries.

Judge McMillan said this kind of job for a 19-year-old demonstrated that others did trust Petralia, and she said it was an impressive post to hold. She gave him credit for that, and his previous "immaculate" character. 

Advocate Green also said Petralia has been suffering with PTSD since the crash, because of its severe nature.

It was also insisted he was only travelling at the speed limit, 35mph, when the incident took place. In interview Petralia had initially told police he may have been going up to 40mph because of the overtaking manoeuvre, but Advocate Green said that account was unreliable because of the anxieties his client was suffering during the interview. 

Petralia only pleaded guilty on the basis that the overtaking manoeuvre was mis calculated, and that he should have seen the second vehicle ahead that was about to turn across his path. 

Pictured: Guernsey's court building.