A ELDERLY hit-and-run driver said to be too frail for jail has been let off with a fine – despite ploughing into a cyclist on a roundabout, sending him flying into the air and seriously injuring him.
Charles Wallace, 81, failed to give way to the cyclist, then 78, despite the fact that it was daylight and the victim, who was already on the roundabout, was riding in hi-vis yellow cycling gear and with a continuously-flashing red rear light.
He collided with the victim, who was thrown into the air and onto the bonnet of Wallace's Hyundai Connect before landing head first on the tarmac at Manor Powis Roundabout on the outskirts of Stirling, just a few miles from the victim's home in Alva.
He was knocked instantly unconscious and aided at the scene by other drivers while Wallace drove off leaving his victim on the road.
He was blue-lighted to hospital with a broken collarbone, soft tissue damage, severe bruising, cuts to an ear and eyebrow, and hand injuries. The bike suffered a damaged rear wheel.
A court heard that after the incident Wallace's licence was revoked by the DLVA pending an eyesight test, but an allegation that his eyesight had been defective at the actual time of the collision was dropped by the prosecution. His lawyer blamed his elderly client's “reflexes”.
Wallace, of Larbert, Stirlingshire, a first offender, pleaded guilty at Stirling Sheriff Court to causing serious injury by careless driving in the incident, on the A907 near Stirling, at 2pm on November 12 last year (2025), and failing to stop and give his details.
Lucy Clarke, the depute fiscal, said: “As (the victim) crossed lanes to exit the roundabout, the accused failed to keep a proper lookout and collided with him, propelling him into the air and over his bonnet, causing him land head-first on the ground, knocking him unconscious.
“Members of the public stopped to assist the cyclist, who was motionless on the ground, and phoned an ambulance.
“The accused stood nearby but failed to provide his details to anyone at the scene before driving away in his vehicle.”
Police traced Wallace from his registration, that had been noted by others at the scene.
He told officers he hadn't seen the cyclist.
He said: “It was a wee bit dull. He was on the inside and should have been over a bit. It just happened that quick.”
Solicitor Marcell Horvath, defending, said Wallace had sold his car and was not going to be driving again.
He said: “He suffers from osteoarthritis, atrial fibrillation, hypertension and kidney disease. His great-niece has power of attorney for his welfare.
“He should have yielded. It was a miscalculation and perhaps someone with quicker reflexes would have caught that sooner.
“I understand compensation was made to the complainer through the insurance.”
He said the reason Wallace left the scene was that he had “panicked”.
He said: “He ought to have stayed around.”
Sheriff Neil Kinnear said: “I'm not at his age thinking about prison, and getting reports about unpaid work with his conditions seems pointless.”
He fined Wallace £865 and banned him from driving for three years.
He told him: “Your carelessness resulted in quite serious injury to the cyclist, who was riding his bicycle. It is very lucky he's made a full recovery. Hitting him and sending him over the bonnet could have had much more serious consequences – he could have been killed.”
The victim was described as an experienced cyclist who normally rode around 180 kms a week without incident.
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