A drug dealer who killed a great-granddad after hitting him while pulling a wheelie on his e-bike has been jailed.
Dylan Green, 20, had his girlfriend on the back of the bike, which he later said could travel up to 50mph, when he collided with 86-year-old Bart O’Hare as he stepped into the road on his way to a chip shop in Burnley, Lancashire, in March last year.
Mr O’Hare’s daughter Marika Mausolf addressed Green from the witness box at Preston Crown Court on Monday, saying: ‘Not once did you show any thought or concern for him after taking your girlfriend out on an illegal bike and pulling wheelies on the road with no consideration for my dad.
‘Your selfish attitude was to try and diminish your actions by leaving my dad to suffer so you could get rid of the bike.’
She said: ‘You’ve broken my family in so many ways that I cannot begin to explain.’
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Footage played in court showed Green, who was on bail for drugs offences at the time, pulling a wheelie as he drove down Accrington Road shortly after 4.15pm on March 22 last year.
The wheelie lasted for 37 metres, the court heard.
The collision was not shown on camera but in the moments after, Green could be seen returning on the bike, which was being ridden on the pavement.
Philip Astbury, prosecuting, told the court Mr O’Hare was thrown into the air following the collision, which happened moments after he stepped into the road.
Tyre marks showed Green’s bike had returned to two wheels shortly before the crash, but Mr Astbury said the wheelie had ‘entirely compromised Dylan Green’s view of the road ahead of him’.
He said it had not been possible to determine the exact speed Green was travelling, but expert analysis of CCTV which had been recovered found it was 41% faster than all other vehicles in the area at the time.
He added: ‘Dylan Green and his girlfriend fled the scene on his e-bike, which has never been recovered.’
About 45 minutes later, Green returned to the scene with two other males, one who told a police officer Green was responsible but suggested Mr O’Hare ‘ran out in front of him’, the court heard.
Mr O’Hare, who had two granddaughters and five great-grandchildren, died in hospital a number of days later, having suffered head and chest injuries including a fractured skull.
Kristian Cavanagh, defending, said Green had demonstrated remorse ‘in his own way’ and night terrors and panic attacks which he suffered were a reflection of how he felt.
Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham told Green: ‘You should have been wearing a helmet. You should have been displaying L plates. You should have passed a basic test. You should have been insured. You should not have had a pillion passenger.’
He said: ‘Whilst you are undoubtedly sorry to be caught, I do not detect any real remorse.’
Green, of Burnley, Lancashire, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by driving while uninsured. He was sentenced to eight years and three months in a young offenders institution.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of supplying MDMA between July and October 2023, for which he was given a concurrent sentence of 12 months in a young offenders institute.
He was disqualified from driving for 12 years and four months.
Speaking outside court, Sergeant Paul McCurrie said: ‘That Friday, Bart left his house to go and pick up fish and chips for his tea, a journey that so many people will regularly make.
‘Bart didn’t make it to the chip shop, or home that night, instead he was killed by Dylan Green’s reckless driving.’
He added: ‘Driving in this manner is not and never will be acceptable.
‘When the worst-case scenario happens, as it did on that day last year, it leaves behind a wake of devastation to more people than you would imagine.’
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