Teenage motorcyclist who killed dog owner escapes prison sentence due to prison overcrowding

An uninsured teenage motorcyclist who killed a dog owner avoided a prison sentence due to prison overcrowding, a court heard.

CJ Fitt, 17, was described as riding his 125cc Yamaha motorbike like an “idiot”, overtaking cars and driving at 50mph in a 30mph zone before hitting Lucy Machin, 55, at a pedestrian crossing.

He met Ms Machin when he was riding his motorbike on a public road in Norwich for the first time at around 7.15am on November 22, 2022, the court heard. Ms Machin later died of a “catastrophic” head injury in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Fitt, a scaffolder who is now 18, initially denied causing death by careless driving but changed his plea to guilty before trial. He also admitted causing death by driving without insurance.

Judge Andrew Shaw described the case as a “terrible tragedy” and sentenced him to nine months in a young offenders' institution, suspended for two years, at Norwich Crown Court.

Fitt was also sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for three years and had to take an extended driving test before he could get his licence back.

The judge explained to him: “One could say that the death of a person through careless driving is so serious that only an immediate prison sentence is justified, but in the case of a person as young as you, that is too superficial an analysis.

“I have to take into account your age, the overcrowding of the prison and the length of your incarceration in a youth correctional facility.”