E-bike Rider Who Killed 91-year-old Avoids Jail

The first cyclist in Britain to be convicted of manslaughter for hitting and killing a pedestrian has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Clifford Cage, 50, admitted the manslaughter of James Blackwood, 91, in Rochester. Mr Blackwood, a great-grandfather and retired Royal Engineer, was struck by Cage's e-bike while putting his bins out on the pavement outside his home in July 2023.

CCTV footage played in court showed Cage riding the powered bicycle at "some speed" along the pavement of a residential street before colliding with the pensioner.

Mr Blackwood, who during his military career served in West Germany, Malaya and Northern Ireland, suffered a brain bleed and a kidney injury. He died almost three months later.

At Maidstone Crown Court, Cage was sentenced by Julian Smith to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.

The court heard that Cage, from Rochester, was travelling at about 12mph at the time of the collision and was not pedalling "madly" or "flat out".

Danny Moore KC, defending Cage, told the court his client had remained at the scene after the collision and called emergency services. He added that "the practical reality of everyday life on the road means many cyclists at some point have ridden briefly on a pavement or shared path".

During a 999 call played to the court, Cage said: "I hit him with my push bike. I didn't see the guy. He stepped out from behind the tree." He told police his e-bike was capable of reaching 15mph and said he had been riding on the pavement after two near misses had frightened him.

Sentencing him, Judge Smith said Cage had made a conscious decision to ride on the pavement. He said: "He made a choice to ride on the path … there are reasons it is illegal."

After the hearing, Mr Blackwood's daughter, Christine White, said the conviction should serve as a warning to cyclists who ignore the rules of the road.

She said pedestrians face a daily "lottery" over whether they will encounter cyclists riding on pavements. Ms White also called on the Government to review regulations governing e-bikes, warning they can be modified to reach speeds of more than 70mph.

In a statement, she said: "For the first time in British legal history, a cyclist has been convicted of manslaughter for killing another human being. Cyclists can no longer decide they can leave the road and ride on pavements, endangering pedestrians with impunity."

She also called for tighter regulation of e-bikes, including raising the minimum riding age from 14 to 16 and introducing training or licensing requirements for riders without a driving licence.

Mr Blackwood left the Army in 1972 and later worked at a power station on the Isle of Grain in Kent, as well as in Saudi Arabia, before retiring to Rochester in 1985.

Meanwhile, new legislation currently passing through Parliament — the Crime and Policing Bill — proposes bringing cycling offences in line with driving laws. The change would allow cyclists who kill while riding dangerously to face life imprisonment.

The Johnson Partnership, Derby