Mark Weston spent two weeks in hospital with a broken back and feared he would never walk again after being deliberately run over in 2024. Photo / RNZ, Nate McKinnon
By Jean Edwards of RNZ
A Christchurch cyclist who was badly injured and “left for dead” in a violent hit-and-run is calling for better behaviour from drivers, urging them to share the road with bikes.
Mark Weston spent two weeks in hospital with a broken back and feared he would never walk again after being deliberately run over on Centaurus Rd in Cashmere, in March 2024.
After the crash, driver Liam Foster, 29, took off and drove for about 2km with Weston’s electric bike trapped under his car.
Judge Duncan Harvey jailed Foster for four years and seven months at the Christchurch District Court on Friday for causing grievous bodily harm with intent to injure and failing to stop after an accident.
Weston said he had almost become accustomed to terrible drivers but never imagined someone would intentionally run him down.
“Unfortunately I’m used to riding on the road and having incidents with drivers but never would I expect to be deliberately run over and left for dead,” he said.
“I could easily have been killed. You never expect that to happen, no matter what you do.”
Weston was riding in the cycle lane on Centaurus Rd but moved into the middle of the road where it narrowed at a pedestrian island to avoid being clipped by passing cars.
The court heard the manoeuvre angered Foster who was driving behind and aggressively tooted his horn. Once the road widened, Weston pulled left and gave Foster the finger as he drove past.
Foster stopped further up the road and verbally abused Weston, who slapped one of the car’s wing mirrors as he rode past, breaking the cover.
Harvey told the court that infuriated Foster, who pursued Weston as he fled on to the footpath.
“Your reaction to that was entirely disproportionate. You revved your vehicle loudly enough for him to hear, then you essentially lined him up and ran him over on the grass berm,” he said.
“This was a dreadful act of violence. I hope you realise that if as a result of what you did on this morning, Mr Weston had been killed, you would almost certainly have been facing a charge of murder.”
Weston broke down in tears reading a victim impact statement in court, detailing serious injuries including his broken back, broken and torn wrists and cuts, grazes and burns on his leg.
At the hospital emergency department, he was terrified of being paralysed.
“I still remember grabbing my daughter’s hand and saying, ‘honey, I’m scared’. As a parent to a child, you should never have to do that,” he said.
More than 18 months on, Weston lives in constant pain, cannot work and is recovering from months of severe depression.
Harvey noted Foster had shown no remorse or empathy for Weston and continued to maintain his innocence, blaming his partner for his crimes, despite being found guilty following a judge-alone trial in August.
“There has been dreadful harm caused to Mr Weston. Not only did he suffer the physical injuries, he has suffered psychologically. It has upset him, it has upset his family and you need to understand very clearly just how much damage you have done,” he said.
While Weston accepted he should not have knocked Foster’s wing mirror, he said he was fed up with dangerous driving.
“When you encounter situations like that every time you ride you get frustrated. On that ride I had already done 15km and had two or three cars pass too close or turn in front of me,” he said.
“That’s why cyclists have to take the lane, it’s the only way to stay safe. I don’t want cyclists to keep getting hit and killed. I could have been a statistic.”
Foster was also disqualified from driving for two years, although Weston was upset the period would run while he was in jail, arguing the sanction would have no practical effect.
The court heard Foster could not afford to make a reparation payment to Weston.
Weston’s electric bike was destroyed in the crash and it was a year before he was ready to get back in the saddle.
“I got onto a bike at home, just to ride on my driveway, which turned into riding down the footpath and then I went ‘bugger it’ and I rode on the road – only for a couple of hundred metres because it hurt. I got off, went to the neighbour’s, got a hug and cried,” he said.
Weston has since ventured on to a busy road and dreams of one day being fit enough to cycle the 85km Old Ghost Rd on the South Island’s West Coast.
“It was terrifying having people drive up behind me, but I did it. I’m not going to let it hold me back,” he said.
Weston urged drivers to watch out for cyclists and observe the recommended passing distance of 1.5m, while cyclists should follow the road rules and be respectful to drivers and pedestrians.