Drunken motorcyclist jailed after wheelie stunt on Harrogate road leaves two women with life-changing injuries

A drunken motorcyclist who did wheelies on a main road in Harrogate has been jailed for over four years after crashing into two female pedestrians who suffered “life-changing” injuries.

Lawrence Hayward, 20, collided with the two women while performing the “extraordinarily dangerous” stunt, causing catastrophic injuries to both women, one of whom suffered multiple broken bones and whose lives had been ruined, Leeds Crown Court heard.

CCTV footage of Hayward’s reckless riding showed him weaving in and out of busy weekend traffic on Knaresborough Road while speeding and doing wheelies on his off-road motorbike.

After narrowly avoiding two pedestrians on a road crossing whom he swerved to miss, he carried on speeding on the outside lane of the carriageway and, after losing control while pulling a wheelie, he mounted a pavement and knocked down the two named victims, the most seriously injured of whom was an elderly woman.

Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said it was about 11.40am on June 28 last year when police were called to a road-traffic incident and a “commotion” on Knaresborough Road by “numerous” witnesses.

Police were told that two women were laid out on the pavement with serious injuries and that the motorcyclist who had struck them had tried to flee the scene, only to be detained by two men.

Hayward, who was almost twice the legal drink-drive limit, was not wearing a helmet and had “pulled wheelies on numerous occasions” while weaving in and out of traffic for about 500 yards from the Empress Roundabout.

He rode on the pavement, swept back onto the road and lost control while doing a wheelie as the motorbike crashed into the two victims.

He fell off his bike but tried to get back on it and ride off, but he was stopped by two male witnesses who ran over to the aid of the two stricken women.

The two men detained Hayward until police arrived to arrest him.

He refused a breath test at the scene but a later drink-drive test in custody revealed he had 135mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal alcohol limit is 80mg.

The elderly woman, who suffered “life-threatening and life-changing” injuries, was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary and the other victim was taken to Harrogate District Hospital by ambulance.

The elderly woman spent nine weeks in hospital and required emergency surgery after suffering multiple fractures to her legs, arms and ribs.

She also underwent extensive plastic surgery for degloving injuries to both legs where skin and underlying tissue were torn from the body.

The other victim, who was in her 20s, suffered lacerations to both legs, lost five teeth and sustained a fractured nose which required reconstructive surgery.

One female witness said she heard a motorbike pick up speed from the Empress Roundabout and estimated it was travelling at about 45mph in a 30mph zone.

She then then saw the motorcyclist speeding with its front wheel “about 6ft or 7ft in the air” just before hitting one of the women, then striking the other victim immediately afterwards, near the junction with Newham Street.

The motorbike crashed into a fence bordering a residential garden on Knaresborough Road. Hayward was found hiding in the garden whose fence was damaged.

He was on bail at the time after being arrested for robbing a Harrogate taxi driver while brandishing a screwdriver three weeks earlier.

Ms Clarke said that in the early hours of June 8 last year, Hayward, who had been drinking beer and spirits, caught a cab outside Mainline Taxis in Station Parade and asked the driver to take him to the KFC restaurant in Starbeck.

The driver set off despite Hayward’s behaviour being “a little strange” and smelling strongly of alcohol.

He asked Hayward to pay the fare up front which he did, but when he stopped the car in Spa Street and gave him his change, Hayward demanded his money back and “held out what (the victim) thought was a knife”.

“(The taxi driver) gave the defendant his money back and drove away,” said Ms Clarke.

The matter was reported to police who tracked Hayward’s movements, going back and forth to his supported accommodation in Spa Lane where officers found the screwdriver.

Hayward initially denied the robbery but pleaded guilty on the day of trial.

He admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, one count of drink-driving and damaging property, namely the resident’s fence, at the first time of asking.

In a statement read out by the prosecution, the elderly victim of the road accident, said: “On June 28, 2025, my life changed forever, physically, emotionally and psychologically, in ways I could never have imagined.

“What began as an ordinary walk to a corner shop for milk became a nightmare.

"Were it not for the swift action and speedy response of the medical services and police, I truly believe I would not be here today.

"I’m very lucky to be alive.”

She added: “The pain is relentless and I’m unable to walk or sit for long periods.

"Before this incident, I was a confident and assured woman, but this incident has taken that away from me.

“I can no longer drive and I’m unable to visit loved ones and friends.

"The isolation and hopelessness during recovery has taken a toll on my mental health.”

Doctors had told her that she may never regain full mobility in one of her arms and she now faced the prospect of having to move house because she struggled to get up the stairs to her upper-floor flat.

Her “catastrophic” injuries had exacerbated her pre-existing arthritis and hip problems and she could no longer pursue her love of swimming and cycling.

“The trauma of that day continues to affect me daily,” she added.

“The mental anguish of this will stay with me forever.”

The other named victim said her “quality of life has declined” and she was still in constant pain.

It had affected her work due to mobility issues and she had a further round of surgery to her leg ahead of her, one year on from the accident.

For months after the incident, she was unable to cook or bathe herself or even move from room to room.

“I have come to realise that I will never fully return to the person I was before it happened,” she added.

“Hayward has taken this from me with what he chose to do that day.”

She had been told by consultants that her injuries would be “life-long”.

Hayward had one previous conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm which resulted in a youth referral order at Kent Youth Court in 2020.

Defence barrister Susannah Proctor described Hayward’s drink-fuelled driving as “frankly appalling conduct”.

She said that Hayward had mental-health and neurological conditions including ADHD which had been exacerbated by alcohol abuse.

She said that he had moved from southern England to Harrogate in 2021 after he was exploited by members of a County Lines drug-dealing gang which left him with £6,000 debts.

She said that Hayward had been working as a volunteer at Brimham Rocks, the popular tourist destination in Harrogate run by the National Trust, but he gave up that post “in anticipation of sentence”.

Recorder Simon Jackson said that Hayward had caused permanent, life-changing and “irreversible” injuries by his extraordinarily dangerous manoeuvres” while “highly impaired” by alcohol.

He added: “The consequences for the two victims have been very severe.”

Hayward was jailed for two-and-a-half years for the motoring offences and 25 months for robbing the taxi driver.

The total jail sentence was four years and seven months.

He was also given a two-year driving ban and ordered to pay £10 compensation to the taxi driver for the loss of the £8.40 cab fare.