E-bike rider sentenced after killing great-grandfather, 91, on pavement

A man who struck and killed a 91-year-old great-grandfather while riding his electric bike on the pavement has been given a suspended sentence for manslaughter.

Clifford Cage, 50, from Rochester, Kent, received a jail term of 15 months, suspended for two years, at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday after the collision in the town on 6 July 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service believes the case is the first of its kind for a manslaughter conviction linked to cycling on the pavement.

The court heard Jim Blackwood was taking his bins out on City Way when he was struck. He was taken to hospital but his health deteriorated, and he died three months later on 13 October.

During sentencing, Judge Julian Smith said the army veteran "suffered significantly" in his final months. Following the case, Cage and Mr Blackwood's daughter, Christine White, hugged in the courtroom.

She said it was a historic judgment which has a wider impact that cyclists can no longer endanger pedestrians "with impunity.