A young van driver who left a cyclist brain injured after knocking him off his bike has been banned from the road for a year.

Liam Mazzone claimed he was blinded by the sun when the Transit van he was driving collided with Mike Collister’s bike on Church Road in Rushen on January 18 this year.

Mr Collister, who can count himself lucky to be alive, was cycling towards the Four Roads junction near the Ballakilley estate entrance at about 3pm when he was struck from behind.

He was flown by air ambulance to the UK for medical treatment, having suffered serious injuries including a bleed on the brain and fractures to his vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and leg.

INJURY

Mr Collister, who has no recollection of the crash due to his brain injury, spent 22 days in hospital.

He can now walk with crutches but his recovery is expected to take 18 months , and that for his brain injury up to two years.

The van driver, aged 21, of North Shore Road, Ramsey, admitted causing serious bodily harm by driving without due care and consideration.

Appearing before magistrates last week, Mazzone was handed a 120 -hour community service order and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

He was ordered to retake and pass the extended driving test and had his licence endorsed. Mazzone had to pay prosecution costs of £92.44.

At the earlier court appearance, prosecutor Barry Swain told magistrates: ’The sun was a major factor in this particular incident.

’It was very low in the sky and was blinding when travelling towards Port St Mary - it was simply a case of not seeing the cyclist.’

Mazzone’s vehicle was examined after the crash and was found to have a defective windscreen washer so that no water came out when it was turned on.

Mr Swain told the court it was something Mazzone had noticed moments before the collision when he went to use it.

Mazzone’s advocate Jason Stanley agreed the main cause of the crash was the position of the sun.

He said his client ’fully accepted the incident had been his fault’ adding ’Mr Mazzone is clearly very remorseful.

’He is a keen cyclist himself and would never wittingly endanger anyone on the road - it’s one of those very unfortunate sets of circumstances.’