JAIL THE BASTARDS .

Two drivers used the A689 as 'a racetrack' in a road rage dispute before a much-loved cyclist was struck and killed, a court was told.

Paige Robinson and David Ferry are accused of causing the death of dad-of-two Graham Pattison, on July 24, 2020. The pair have gone on trial at Teesside Crown Court after each denying the offence and blaming the other.

Jurors heard how Mr Pattison, from Hartlepool, was riding his bike on the stretch of road between Wynyard and Sedgefield when he was hit by the white Ford Fiesta being driven by Robinson, 24. He was propelled 40 metres in the collision, suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at hospital.

Prosecutor Nick Dry said Ferry and Robinson, who were driving separate cars and did not previously know each other, had been in a dispute on the road. Their paths first crossed before the collision, at the junction with the A1 - when they both intended to turn left onto the A689 towards Hartlepool.

Robinson said that co-defendant Ferry, who was driving a black Audi, had become angry and twice changed lanes ahead of her. It is claimed he was beeping his horn at her and tailgating her.

She said he was screaming at her “like a raving lunatic”. Ferry denied being the aggressor and said that Robinson’s boyfriend had lured him to a layby for a fight.

A motorist said he saw the two defendants close to each other - Robinson in the inside lane and Ferry in the outside lane. He said he saw the white car - Robinson’s- swerve left and told his wife that he feared there was going to be a crash.

Witness Mary Hunter says there was a black car behind her, she saw it in her rear view mirror. “It was so close to me, if I’d stopped for any reason or if my car had stalled, it would have hit me," she said.

She said she sped up to try and get past the cyclist when she saw the black Audi. She saw the crash and says the black Audi “took off”..

The prosecution say that Robinson was involved in an altercation with Ferry for 6.5 miles, from the A1 roundabout, and she was too distracted to see the cyclist. Both were using the road "as a racetrack", the court heard, and were so engrossed by each other, that they both failed to see Graham Pattison on his bike.

Emergency services helped Mr Pattison, but he had suffered severe spinal injuries, and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. The prosecution say that both defendants are equally culpable for the 49-year cyclist's death.

Robinson, of Geranium Close in Billingham and Ferry, 47, of Granville Terrace in Redcar, both deny the charge of causing death by dangerous driving. The trial is proceeding.

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/road-rage-pair-were-using-23789624