Biker who crashed into tourist gets community service

Sarah Louise de la Haye was seen weaving dangerously in and out of traffic on 26 September last year shortly before she crashed into the woman near the Hotel Ambassadeur in St Clement.

The victim had been crossing from the beach and was approaching the middle of the road when de la Haye careered into her.

The 26-year-old, who was in tears when sentenced in the Royal Court on Friday, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving and another of causing injury by careless driving, a charge which was only introduced in Jersey law in 2015.

She was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and banned from driving for two years.

A witness, who had been in the hotel car park, said that the victim was standing in the road and ‘didn’t know whether to stop or move’, while another described her as ‘like a rabbit in headlights’.

Advocate Debbie Corbel, defending, said that de la Haye’s driving on the day of the accident was ‘completely out of character’ and that her spotless criminal record should be factored into any sentence.

She pointed to de la Haye’s good character – including volunteering for Durrell and the Prince’s Trust – and said that she had not been speeding.

Delivering the court’s sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Sir Michael Birt agreed with Crown Advocate Yates that a jail sentence would ordinarily be imposed, but accepted that de la Haye’s mitigation and personal circumstances warranted a community service order.

Jurats Geoffrey Grime and Jerry Ramsden were sitting.

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