Maniacal May Day Maiming

Legon

Ongoing enquiry...

Mark Elvin

Are you going through the CICA? I had a really nasty assulat in May last year where seven "yobs" puhed me to the ground, where I was knocked unconcious, then proceded to kick me in the face & stamp on my head, causing no less than 7 seperate fractures to my skull, destroying my right orbital floor (eye socket floor), smashing my cheek bone, destroying the muscles that control my right eye, damaging my maxilory nerve & leaving me with some brain damage.

I found the CICA to be very efficient & helpfull at all times, making an initial payment within 6 months, & a follw up will be made after my checkup in October.

Agent57

I also had success through the CICB (Criminal Injuries Compensation Board) back in the early 90s when I was left unconscious in the road after an assault, with no way of identifying the assailants. It won't help with convicting anyone, but can help paying for medical expenses (such as my dental work) and compensation for pain and suffering (paid for my first PC, amongst other things).

aldric

Legon wrote:

Together we only had a partial plate, Y319. A black Fiat.

I received my first visit from police a month later and the story is they had identified 47 cars of this description but the colour could be a red herring if it had been resprayed. I had a good look at the paintwork, it was as black as the night, and immaculate.

If that partial registration is correct then I am surprised that they have 47 hits. I assume they have done something called a 'VODS' check which basically where you put a partial registration number, the type of vehicle, colour etc in and it comes back with a list of vehicles. This can then be narrowed down by locations as it displays all the registered keepers.

I don't believe for one minute there are 47 black fiats in Plymouth... could you narrow the make of fiat down. I am sure that would help the police.

Did you see if it was a male / female driving? Any passengers?

Are you likely to have caused any damage to the car? Your bike scratched it perhaps?

Did you give details of the witnesses to the Police?

Is it local cops dealing with this or traffic cops?

Good luck finding the culprit.

Legon

Deleted due to lack of crime number...

aldric

Legon wrote:

The fact that someone can get away with what amounts to assault with a deadly weapon and perhaps, though I'm sure you appreciate how difficult it is to prove intent, attempted murder, on a busy road, right outside my workplace in broad daylight, in a 'registered' vehicle astounds me.

The police came while the ambulance was loading me in and described the witnesses assembled as '4 cracking witnesses'.

I did think about this after I posted it and thought that if the guy had deliberately driven at you, then attempted murder should be libelled.

I would be tempted to phone up your local police station and find out if they are treating this as a road accident (failt to stop at scene of a road accident) or as a serious criminal matter (attempted murder). Due to your injuries and the serious nature of the offence (if he drove at your deliberately, possibly proven by the witnesses) then the CID should be invovled / aware.

It's a shame that the check has come back with the nearest car in Swansea, it sounds like there is a good chance the the registration is wrong.

SamWise1972

It was me who witnessed the incident on Waterloo Bridge, and I hope you'll pursue this as far as you can. We can't let people get away with this sort of thing. It worries me a little how common such actions seem to be.

Legon

I agree that the registration details could be wrong. The witness who provided them had not been heard from again when the police made their monthly call to my flat. I can't remember what he told me he thought the registration was (Y39... possibly) but he seemed more concerned for my hip and it didn't sound like what he told the police. He seemed to know his first aid but seemed distracted and concerned that I might headbut him as this 'spare' appendage flailed in my pain.

I suppose it's too late now to appeal for witnesses. Given the 4 cars facing me when he pulled his wheelspin this is dissapointing. I think having a back office job and so sporting 5 days stubble and a fresh grade 5 skim on top (exposing scars) gave me an oikish air that might stifle sympathy- which wasn't a priority for me until that day.

The police man who spoke to me in the ambulance phoned shortly after I left hospital and told me what the letter I had waiting at home for me had said, it had been allocated to the tickets and collisions department (TCD). I phoned TCD and they said the case had been re-allocated to a sergeant at the local Police Station who would have a progress report within a month. Next month the TCD wrote saying it had been allocated to a PC who would look at when his case load permitted.

I'm afraid that even in my most desperate hour with an able body for leg work I have not had much success with chasing the police. They need a good probability of conviction to warrant expenditure of resources like man hours, plus it can help to evoke sympathy.

In 2004 I moved all my belongings to Cardiff. After about a week looking for digs, the car got stolen and I spent all day walking between Cathays and the main police station as each either blamed the other or told me I had simply forgotten where I left it. I used my last �50 to get back to Cornwall where a friend helped me find another car and digs in Plymouth. After the statutory month of police inaction they phoned to say they had found my car. A string of road tax fines followed before I could offload the burdensome beast.

Legon

SamWise, good on you for your bravery. I sometimes wish I the bottle to take the hit on his windshield, but given the traffic and distance available I would likely have ended up under one car or another. I am happy typing away, my day job, for what good it will do, but the problem is bigger than just my 'accident'. Being a bit geeky I was inspired by that link on your thread to logging dangerous drivers. They need to open up their database I think, though that would provide opportunities for false accusations. I've never really trusted the veracity of digital recordings and always stuck to busy routes for my journeys. It seems I need to keep with the times and invest in recorders if the police are refusing to follow up the report of the malicious driver made by a commentator on your Waterloo Bridge thread. Not that cameras would have done me much good without a helmet to mount it on. I recall a study published in a the Times HE and conducted by Dr Ian Walker that drivers gave more room to cyclists (a) without helmets and (b) women.

What I said earlier about my appearance causing prejudice- ok, slightly paranoid rant that. I do sometimes feel like a Steptoe/Scrooge type. I was even wearing my new waterproof coat on the off chance it might rain. Last car I had cost me more repairing the rust each year than a months fuel and insurance. I swore I'd get a garage or at least parking before I gave in to that hugd profligacy again.

Don't get me wrong, a nice cycle is a tremendous buzz and utility. I just happen to believe calorie intake and diet can be as beneficial to good health as cycling excessively..