Driver made up lies after Forest Row smash (From The Argus)

Driver made up lies after Forest Row smash

3:40pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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A driver who broke a cyclist’s back in a crash concocted a string of lies to cover up the accident.

Lesley Hanan smashed into the female cyclist, breaking her collar bone and fracturing her spine, then called police to report it as a hit and run.

Hanan, 44, of Lewes Road, Forest Row, pretended to have stumbled across the accident and stopped to help.

And while the victim lay unconscious and other members of the public stopped to help, Hanan sped off to work.

But police discovered the truth when fragments of Hanan’s car wing mirror were found at the side of the road. The glass was printed with the car make Kia and the police computer showed she owned the same type of car.

When officers caught up with her later the same morning in June 2008, they found damage to her car matching debris found at the scene.

Hanan went on to lie to her insurance company, claiming her wing mirror had been damaged by a passing car the previous night.

After being charged with careless driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident she claimed in court she had been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

But a jury this week decided they did not believe her lies and convicted her of perverting the course of justice.

A police spokeswoman said: “She called 999 and said she had stopped to assist because she had come across an injured cyclist in the road.

“When police arrived she gave them her name as a witness. She told the police officer it must have been a hit and run.

“The victim was pretty seriously hurt; she had a broken collar bone, fractured spine and is still in constant pain. She was in a back brace for a number of months and is still suffering. To this day she has no recollection of the collision.”

Hanan was yesterday sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence and given a curfew banning her from leaving her home between 11pm until 5am. She was also ordered to pay £2000 in costs.

PC Steve Dessouki-Harman, of Polegate Road Policing Unit, said: “This sentence reflects the seriousness of Ms Hanan’s continual lies to avoid responsibility for the accident and sends a clear message to those who may contemplate doing the same – don’t.”