Pregnant driver jailed for ramming cyclist into tree in Hackney

Jailed: Justine Henshaw-Bryan. Photograph: Metropolitan Police

A motorist has been jailed for three years after crashing into the back of a cyclist in a “calculated” attack in February last year.

Justine Henshaw-Bryan, 25, of Yoakley Road in Stoke Newington, was found guilty of causing serious injury to Damien Doughty by dangerous driving at Wood Green Crown Court on Tuesday.

During sentencing yesterday, Judge Gregory Perrin told her: “This was a calculated attempt to run him over and use your car as a weapon. It would have been obvious that to do so would have carried significant risk of injury.”

The court heard how 38-year-old cyclist Damien Doughty confronted Henshaw-Bryan over her use of a mobile phone while driving.

She responded by swearing at Doughty, who then kicked her wing mirror after she stopped at a red light.

Henshaw-Bryan pursued the cyclist as he rode off down Victorian Grove and smashed into his bike from behind, sending him hurtling into a tree.

Doughty spent three days in intensive care with internal bleeding before leaving hospital two weeks later. He told the court he is still in “extreme amounts of pain”.

Henshaw-Bryan, who is now pregnant and due to give birth in November, claimed her boyfriend had grabbed the wheel at the time of the incident.

But Judge Perrin disagreed, telling her: “Those who are unable to control their temper while driving and feel that cyclists are fair game must be dealt with severely.”

On top of her prison sentence, Henshaw-Bryan was disqualified from driving for four-and-a-half years and handed six penalty points.