Telford mother guilty of dangerous overtaking move which seriously injured biker taking his test

Melissa Winwood, 27, of Stanwick, Sutton Hill, has been on trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court accused of performing the manoeuvre on the A442 near High Rock, Bridgnorth, in August last year.

It caused her to hit Wayne Jones leaving him with a broken thigh bone, a dislocated shoulder and a complicated ankle break. At the time Mr Jones was doing his compulsory motorcycle test.

The prosecution argued that Winwood was overtaking a caravan and collided with Mr Jones. However, the defence claimed a fault in the car caused her to swerve into Mr Jones’ path.

The trial heard from Brian Corrigan who had examined the vehicle for the defence. He said the car’s tie rod could have been damaged before the crash and that if it gave way it would have led to a loss of control that might have caused her to swerve.

The trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Winwood previously told police that her Saab 9-3 had been acting “dodgy”.

Mr Corrigan said that if the tie bar had broken on the driver’s side the car would have swerved to the right and Winwood would have been unable to fight it.

But Ian Edwards, who examined the vehicle for West Mercia Police, said the car and bike hit each other with such force that the car’s front wheel was wrenched out of shape.

Giving evidence, Winwood told the court that she was not overtaking, and that the fault had caused the car to veer into the opposite carriageway. She said she used the road four times a day, five times a week, as her children go to school in Bridgnorth.

Speaking after the jury returned its verdict Judge Jonathan Gosling said: “This is a serious offence and I make no promises to what the sentence will be.”

Addressing the victim and his family, he added: "I have no doubt this has been an extremely difficult time for you, and it has gone on a lot longer than all of us had hoped.

"I hope you think that justice has been served."