Reckless e-bike rider jailed for causing death of 86-year-old man in Burnley

An e-bike rider has been jailed for causing the death of 86-year-old man in Burnley.

Green was riding his Surron e-bike with a pillion passenger, without wearing a helmet, weaving purposely across the road and landing a wheelie shortly before colliding with Bart, who had looked both ways before beginning to cross Accrington Road in Burnley.

Dylan Green and his passenger both fell from the e-bike, immediately picking it back up and fleeing the scene, driving over the pavement as he did so. The bike has never been located.

Bart O’Hare was left seriously injured in the road. He was taken to hospital for treatment but sadly died on 31^st March.

This week Green, 20, of Helston Close, Burnley was sentenced.

Following the collision, Green went home, where he told his family about the collision, before returning to the scene, where he was arrested.

Our investigation found that Green was travelling 41 per cent faster than other vehicles on Accrington Road, which has a 30mph speed limit. Footage showed Green weaving over the road, purposely swerving the e-bike where a pedestrian was stood near to the road edge.

Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, he was charged with death by dangerous driving, death by driving whilst uninsured and death by driving without a driving license.

Green was sentenced to eight years and three months in a young offenders' institution by a judge at Preston Crown Court, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing. He received a concurrent sentence of 12 months for a separate drugs offence.

Green was banned from driving for 12 years and four months.

In a Victim Impact Statement, Bart’s daughter told the court: “My dad never spent a night in hospital until that day when his granddaughter took the call.”

She continued: “We went to the hospital, and we have to live with our final memories remembering him by the injuries you caused.”

She added: “Your selfish attitude was to try and diminish your actions by leaving my dad to suffer so you could get rid of the bike. If you had rung an ambulance instead, today may hold a different outcome for us all.”

Bart’s daughter also spoke of her dad’s role in their family: “You have taken the glue to our family, the man in our lives who would guide us whenever we needed.

“He was a man of the community. This is not just our loss, people looked up to my dad.” 

Sgt Paul McCurrie, of our Roads Policing Unit said: “Bart was clearly a much-loved dad and grandad and was well respected in his community.

“Dylan Green rode his e-bike without a care for those around him. He was driving recklessly and showing off, performing a wheelie just before he collided with Bart.

“He didn’t stay at the scene, call for help, or identify himself to police. Instead, he fled, continuing to drive dangerously as he did so, in attempt to cover up his actions. It was only when he told his family what he had done that he returned to the scene.

“Driving in the way Green did is not and never will be acceptable. When the worst-case scenario happens, as did on that day last year, it leaves behind a wake of devastation to more people than you would imagine.

“My thoughts remain with Bart’s loved ones. No sentence will bring him back, but I hope they can feel some sense of justice today, that the man responsible for his death has been brought to justice.”