TWO men were using the roads ‘like a running track’ before an accident left a cyclist with a broken neck and a collapsed lung.
A court heard how Thomas Lycett, 21, of Woodlands Road, Totton and Jacob Reginald Titt, 23, of Poplar Crescent, Ringwood were driving at speeds of up to 100mph in a 40mph limit moments before.
The couple had met friends at a fish bar before getting into their cars, with Titt driving a Scoda and Lycett in a BMW.
CCTV captured the vehicles “passing by” as they drove at high speed, with one witness saying they were going “much faster” than she had ever seen a car on that road.
Meanwhile, Thomas Watt, 45, was on a family bike ride with his wife and two daughters when he started leading his family down Salisbury Road in Calmore.
Prosecuting Tim Naik told the court that Mr Watt was not even halfway through the road when Titt’s car ‘rammed’ his bike.
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The cyclist then flew through the air, landing 43 meters from the crash site.
He was rushed to Southampton General Hospital with life-changing injuries including two fractured vertebrae in his neck, broken ankles, ribs and shoulder and a collapsed lung.
Mr Naik added that the pair drove in a ‘competitive nature’ and were ‘exhibited by two inexperienced drivers’.
In a statement from Mr Watt, which Mr Naik read out in court, he said: ‘It was a miracle that I was the only one injured. I was in so much pain.
“The physical effects have been very difficult for me to deal with. I have to deal with pain like I have never felt before.
“Simple things are no longer so simple. I’m back to work, but not where I was before the crash.
The independent gardener went on to say that since the incident on October 11, 2020, he has returned to work but is “not the same person [he] was before the collision.
Meanwhile, in a second statement read in court, his wife Claire, who witnessed the accident, described the incident as “shocking, traumatic and incredibly upsetting”.
Titt and Lycett appeared at Southampton Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Titt was jailed for 18 months and banned from driving for three years and nine months.
Lycett was jailed for 14 months and banned from driving for three years and seven months.
Detective Constable Mark Furse, of the Roads Enforcement Unit, said: ‘Titt and Lycett were driving so fast they’re lucky they didn’t kill anyone. It was pure luck that neither children were hit by either car.
“Mr Watt will now have to live with the wounds they have caused by their reckless and selfish actions.
“The speed limits are there for a reason and exceeding them so much – more than double on some parts of the roads they were driving on – caused enormous risk to themselves and other innocent road users.
“This case highlights the dangers faced by young, inexperienced drivers who decide to use the roads as a race track and drive well beyond their abilities. The rules of the road exist for a reason and they apply to all drivers.
“Please consider other more vulnerable road users before making the decision to drive in such a dangerous and selfish way.”
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