Judge tells drunk driver 'You can go home today, but be prepared tomorrow'

Ryan Addy outside Liverpool Crown Court
-Credit:Liverpool Echo


A motorcyclist confessed "I've f***ed up, that was my fault" after he caused a crash which left a man in a wheelchair. Ryan Addy spent all day drinking beer but he got on his bike and rode to the shop as he "felt fine to ride".

Instead, he ran a red light and smashed into the side of a car. His pillion passenger suffered devastating and life-changing injuries, including a broken neck, as a result of the incident and spent months in hospital.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Monday, that Addy was riding along West Derby Road shorty after 2am on December 10 2023 with Michael Green, who was wearing no protective gear, on the back of his motorbike. The 35-year-old, of Rock Mount Close in Woolton, then passed through a set of traffic lights at the junction with Green Lane eight seconds after they had turned red.

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Paul Wood, prosecuting, described how the rider failed to brake before smashing into the driver's side of a Ford Focus, which was turning right onto West Derby Road after travelling through a green light. Both Addy and Mr Green were thrown from the motorcycle onto ground as a result of the collision.

The former subsequently told one witness, who had been driving home from work at the time, at the scene: "I've f***ed up. That was my fault."

Addy also claimed he did not know Mr Green and that they had "just met that night". He was taken to Aintree Hospital after suffering a fractured groin, with blood samples taken at around 5am showing that he had nearly double the legal limit for alcohol in his system.

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Subsequently interviewed by detectives on December 30, he stated he had "been drinking beer throughout the day but felt fine to ride his motorbike". Addy said that, shortly before the incident, he had visited a shop on Green Lane where the "unknown male got on the back of his bike".

Mr Green meanwhile sustained a broken neck and a spinal cord injury which left him unable to move his hands and legs. He remained in hospital four months and, although he was able to regain some movement in his fingers and lower limbs after undergoing surgery, faces a "best outcome" of being able to "self propel in a wheelchair".

Addy has no previous convictions, although he was said to have three penalty points for speeding on his licence at the time. Stuart Mills, defending, told the court: "Nothing I say is in any way to take away from the serious consequences of this accident for Mr Green. The defendant himself is devastated at what happened to Mr Green and deeply regrets that any of this ever happened.

"This is actually quite an unusual offence. Mr Addy was confronted by a male who got on to his motorbike without permission. He simply didn't know what to do. It seems that the defendant acted to appease Mr Green in some way.

"He explains that he finished drinking many hours before and had had a sleep and woken up. This is not somebody who has gone out to the pub, got tanked up and then driven home. This is a different set of circumstances.

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"That decision to ride his motorbike was a mistake, but it was not a malicious or deliberate decision to ride under the influence of alcohol. He is somebody who was unable to react to a man getting onto the back of his bike in the early hours of the morning and say 'what are you doing, get off'.

"That might have been the reaction from a lot of people. It could not be his reaction because of difficulties he has experienced throughout his life. He was in care at a young age and was adopted by a couple who are absolutely devoted to Mr Addy. In many respects, he ought to count himself extremely fortunate.

"His mother sadly passed away some 10 years ago. It is a reflection on Mr Addy's condition that he could not even go to his mother's funeral. He could not go to his father's remarriage about 18 months ago because of his condition, because of the anxiety of being confronted by people in that sort of situation.

"He has worked for 16 years, despite his obvious difficulties. There are many who are far better off than him who simply sit back and do not contribute. He has not done that."

Addy admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and drink driving. Judge Ian Harris had been due to pass sentence today but will instead now do so tomorrow morning, Tuesday.

Adjourning the case and releasing the defendant on bail overnight, he said: "I am going to grant you bail, but it is not a promise that you will not go to prison tomorrow. It is highly likely that you will do. I just want to take a little bit of time and revisit matters. You can go home today, but be prepared tomorrow."