E-bike rider, 32, weeps as he’s cleared of killing a pedestrian, 56, by careless driving while speeding at 30mph

A MAN wept in the dock as he was cleared by a jury of killing a pedestrian while speeding at 30mph on an e-bike.

Bricklayer Thomas Hanlon, 32, was on his way home from work and going more than 10mph over the 20mph speed limit in Dalston, east London, when he hit Sakine Cihan on August 28, 2018.

The Old Bailey heard Ms Cihan, 56, died in hospital the next day as a result of a "catastrophic" head injury.

It is believed to be the first death of a pedestrian after a collision with an e-bike in the UK.

Mr Hanlon, of Queen's Drive, east London, denied causing death by careless driving and driving while uninsured and unlicensed.

On Monday, a jury deliberated for over an hour to find him not guilty of all charges, including an alternative charge of careless driving.

Mr Hanlon held his head in his hands and sobbed as the foreman of the jury announced the verdicts.

The court had heard how Mr Hanlon was travelling around 30mph but had slowed down before he crashed into the pedestrian who had suddenly walked into Kingsland High Street.

Ms Cihan had tried to cross the road despite the lights being green, jurors were told.

One witness recalled seeing Mr Hanlon and thinking "Jesus that's fast" just before he "suddenly saw arms and legs everywhere, flying in the air".

Another said in a statement read to court that heads collided before the rider got up "dazed and confused", leaving the pedestrian motionless on the road.

In a police interview, Mr Hanlon admitted leaving the scene but said he had no time to swerve as Ms Cihan had crossed the road unexpectedly.

He said: "She rushed out in front of me to cross and she didn't even look at me."