This is the shocking moment a careless electric unicycle rider left a two-year-old girl with a fractured skull and a serious brain injury after colliding with her on Felixstowe Promenade in Suffolk.
CCTV footage shows Andrew Wickenden, 50, from Ipswich, riding on a single-wheeled electric scooter on Sunday, November 3, as he weaves in and out of pedestrians.
The video then shows him zooming down the promenade as he nears a group of people walking in the opposite direction as him.
The clip cuts out momentarily, which was when he collided with the toddler. The video then shows the vehicle strewn across the floor, while a man is seen confronting Mr Wickenden.
The two-year-old is shown being held in her mother’s arms.
She sustained a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain and had to be rushed to hospital by ambulance.
The man was given a suspended sentence and a driving ban after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
But in a statement, the defendant said he was travelling at a speed ‘less than cyclists’ and close to a wall to ‘minimise potential contact with others’.
A careless electric unicycle rider left a two-year-old girl with a fractured skull and a serious brain injury after colliding with her on Felixstowe Promenade in Suffolk
CCTV footage shows Andrew Wickenden riding on a single-wheeled electric scooter on Sunday, November 3, as he weaves in and out of pedestrians
The clip cuts out momentarily, which was when he collided with the toddler
‘I am devastated and I’ve had sleepless nights’ Mr Wickenden added in his statement.
The court heard how Mr Wickenden had been riding a Bedgoden unicycle, which can only be used on private land.
The victim’s mother told the court that the incident left her daughter ‘covered in her own sick’ and ‘head to toe in bruises and scrapes.’
‘Seeing my daughter in a situation that I couldn’t prevent was heartbreaking. Hearing the diagnosis of a fractured skull and brain bleed and knowing there was absolutely nothing I could do to repair’, she added.
The court heard the toddler recovered from her injuries, but her mother, who has not been named to protect the young girl’s identity, told the court of the anxiety and distress she was left with after the incident.
‘I couldn’t sleep without her being close to me, I endured nightmares.’
‘As a parent the last thing you ever want is to hear your child is in pain and suffering, especially from something so careless and preventable’.
‘The emotional distress we have gone through as a family in such a small amount of time is awful. A feeling me, and my children, will never forget.’
The man was given a suspended sentence and a driving ban after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving
Mr Wickenden had been riding a Bedgoden unicycle, which can only be used on private land
The court also heard that the child recovered from her injuries, but there were concerns about her long-term development.
‘She is currently still undergoing a range of tests such as eye and hearing tests to ensure nothing has been damaged. The daily worry of what could happen as she grows is frightening, the unknown of how much this has truly affected her’, her mother told the court.
Mr Wickenden will spend 14 weeks behind bars and was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.
He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Acting Inspector Matt Dale, the senior investigating officer for the incident, said in a statement: ‘This was an unusual incident where a child had suffered serious injuries as a result of a lack of due care from the defendant, riding a vehicle that is not legal on our roads or public spaces.
‘This matter was easily preventable and could have had resulted in a fatal outcome. This should be a lesson to any person who possesses an e-scooter, electric unicycle or similar vehicle to ensure they know the law in relation to their use and to ride them legally in suitable private spaces with due care.’
