Cyclist is fined £2,200 after crash that killed teenage girl

Jason Howard, 36, hit the 17-year-old as she walked with friends in Buckingham, in April last year.

He shouted at the youngsters to "move, because I'm not stopping" but rode into Rhiannon Bennett, Aylesbury Magistrates' Court heard.

She hit her head on the pavement as she fell and died of her injuries, a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed.

Howard, of Buckingham, was found guilty and handed a fine of 2,200 – 300 less than the maximum penalty for dangerous cycling.

The court heard yesterday that he could have swerved to avoid the girl, but told police he thought a shout would be enough to avoid the collision.

Howard was cycling on the road when he approached the group, but the court heard conflicting evidence about whether he mounted the kerb at any point during the incident.

Speaking after the verdict, Miss Bennett's parents, Diane and Michael, said they felt "betrayed" by the justice system.

"We feel completely let down by the system," said Mr Bennett.

"When this first happened, we thought we would be looking at manslaughter or murder." Mrs Bennett added: "It's a life, he should have had a prison sentence."

Maureen Denny, Miss Bennett's aunt, described the teenager as a proud and beautiful young woman.

"It is remarkable, everybody in Buckingham knew Rhiannon. She worked in the local greengrocers, she was a lovely girl.

"It's hard to come to terms with what happened. I still cry every day."

The district judge, Terry English, heard that Howard, who paints white lines on the road, was pedalling at about 23mph when he hit the teenager. She died six days later, without coming out of her coma.

Howard had claimed that he was aiming for a small gap between Miss Bennett and her friends.

Mr English told Howard: "The speed at the time of the collision I consider a gross speed, given the circumstances, which would be obvious to any competent or careful cyclist.

"As a cyclist, you should know cycling in such a way would be dangerous."

The judge added that answers the defendant had given to the police had been illustrative of the "devil-may-care" way he had ridden.

"You had ample opportunity to greatly reduce your speed. You had oceans of room to avoid any possible contact between you and any of the group," he said.

Howard refused to comment on the trial as he left the court.