Bristol driver jailed over bicycle tow death

A driver has been jailed for three years and three months after he caused the death of his friend by towing him along on his bicycle in Bristol.

Father-of-two Mark Hollister, from Southmead, died when he fell from bike when it hit a drain cover as he held onto a car being driven at 25mph by Jonathan Atkinson in Easter Compton last July.

At Bristol Crown Court, Judge Mark Horton said Atkinson had acted with ‘highly culpable stupidity’ when he towed Mr Hollister home to Bristol knowing the cyclist had been drinking cider and taking drugs.

Atkinson, 37, of Church Road, Easter Compton, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice for initially lying to police and Mr Hollister’s family about what had happened.

After the case, a statement was issued by the family of security guard Mr Hollister, father to Corie, three, and Jamie, 17.

It said: “We will never forget the feeling of utter despair, as we sat at his hospital bedside, doctors telling us they could do nothing to save him.

“No punishment to the person responsible could ever compensate the family for the loss of a loving son. father and brother.

“Once his short sentence has been served, Mr Atkinson will again be free to resume his normal life.

“For Mark’s family, however, life can never be the same and we all miss him so very much.

“Mark’s two sons have lost a father they should have spent many years growing up with.”

Mr Hollister’s father John, who thanked the police for their conduct in the case, said: “No length of sentence can bring my son back. For me it’s a lifetime.”

Bristol Crown Court was told Atkinson and Mr Hollister had been socialising at Atkinson’s home in Easter Compton when Mr Hollister left to ride home on his mountain bike just after midnight on July 7.

Mr Hollister then waited outside and, when Atkinson came out of the house, asked him if he could be towed up the hill towards his home in Bristol.

The court heard that Mr Hollister had one hand on his handlebars and one hand on Atkinson’s car as he was pulled along at a speed of about 25mph.

But things went badly wrong, the court heard, when the wheel of Mr Hollister’s bicycle hit on a drain cover and he fell to the ground on the B4005 Blackhorse Hill.

He was later taken to Frenchay Hospital by ambulance with a severe brain injury and doctors were unable to save him.

Crown Prosecutor Ian Fenny said a dog walker witnessed Mr Hollister being towed along by Atkinson at 12.45am.

Mr Fenny said: “He said he could see a man holding onto the car and both men seemed to be quite enjoying the experience and were whooping and there were shouts of excitement.

“He was appalled by what he saw and he described it as unbelievably stupid and highly dangerous. He said he later heard a sound of a collision but didn’t investigate it.”

Mr Fenny said two women then arrived at the scene of the accident in a car and saw Mr Hollister lying motionless on the road.

He said the two woman dialled 999 after noticing that Atkinson seemed ‘unnerved’, ‘unwilling for them to help’ and appeared to be ‘trying to get rid of them’.

The court was told that when a paramedic arrived minutes later Atkinson initially seemed ‘more preoccupied with leaving than helping him’ but later became more co-operative with the ambulance crews.

Mr Fenny said Mr Hollister had emergency brain surgery at Frenchay Hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The prosecutor, who said Atkinson had towed Mr Hollister on his bike in the past, said the defendant initially tried to mislead the police by lying about his involvement in the accident, claiming he had been a Good Samaritan who had stopped to help Mr Hollister.

He said Atkinson was arrested on July 9 after police had begun to piece together what had happened.

The court was told that the details of the collision which led to Mr Hollister’s death were unclear.

Mr Fenny said: “It seems the front wheel hit a drain cover in the road, leading to a sudden loss of control.”

Catherine Spedding, defending, said: “It’s clearly a tragic case and Mr Atkinson accepts the loss he has caused as a result of his driving and it’s something he is remorseful about. He regrets the loss of a friend and would love to turn the clock back.”

She said Atkinson was ‘persuaded’ by Mr Hollister, who was over the drink drive limit, to tow him home.

Ms Spedding said: “Mr Atkinson accepts he was aware that Mr Hollister had had an amount of drink and had probably been consuming cannabis.

“He didn’t think he was in a really bad way because of drink and thought he had consumed about four cans of Strongbow over the course of the evening.”

Explaining why her client lied to police, she said: “He panicked because he realised what he had done was extremely foolish.”

Sentencing Atkinson to three years for causing death by dangerous driving and three months for perverting the course of justice, Judge Horton said he had told a ‘determined tissue of bare-faced lies’ to police and the family of Mr Hollister.

The judge, who also gave Atkinson a three and a half year driving ban, told him: “I’m quite certain you will carry the pain over this to the grave.”