A hit-and-run motorist who was on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into a cyclist in Highgate, north London, causing him serious injuries, has been sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment, with a judge telling him that “one might have expected a normal, decent human being to stop” following the collision.

The crash on Swain’s Lane – a popular climb for London cyclists happened on Easter Sunday, 21 April. It left 22-year-old medical student Josh Day with injuries including bleeding to the brain, a shattered nose and an injury to his knee that may prove permanent due to ligament damage.

Sean Fagan, aged 29 and from Crouch Hill, was arrested and charged after Mr Dey managed to obtain CCTV footage showing the motorist crashing his BMW convertible into him, throwing him through the air.

Last month, Fagan pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failure to stop and failure to report an accident.

He was sentenced today, reports Courtnews.co.uk, with Arizuna Asante, prosecuting, telling the court: “The victim in this case, who happens to be in court with his parents, is Mr Dey.

“In his statement, he describes that he was cycling around in his bicycle in Swain’s Lane.

“He recalls that at the roundabout he slowed down and proceeded to cross it, and he stopped to allow the flow of oncoming traffic.

“The last thing he remembers in waking up in a hospital in a lot of pain.”

The court was shown the CCTV footage of the incident, with Mr Asante adding that Mr Dey “has been told that his knee may never fully recover as the ligament is completely ripped.

“He had to retake his entire fourth year of his medical degree due to the impact on his cognitive function.”

In mitigation, Ciara McElvogue said that Fagan was distracted after arguing with his passenger, who was drunk.

“Nevertheless, he fully accepts that he lost control of that vehicle and that he was on the wrong side of the road,” she said.

Fagan was arrested more than two weeks after the incident and there has been no report of whether he too may have been drinking.

Ms McElvogue told the court that her client had a clean driving licence and that “he lost control on the day in question through distraction.

“He failed to stop at the site of the incident through panic,” she continued. “Of course, in hindsight, he acknowledges he should have stopped.

“At the moment he himself went into shock about the enormity of what had happened,” she added.

“He fully acknowledges not only the physical injuries that he has inflicted to Mr Dey but also how catastrophic this has been to Mr Dey’s life.”

Sentencing Fagan, Judge John Hillen told him: “You lost control of your vehicle, whatever the reason for that was, your driving was out of control and became dangerous.

“You approached that mini-roundabout with Mr Dey riding on his bicycle.

“Looking at the CCTV it was a terrifying moment for anyone, cyclist, pedestrian or another car coming from a different direction.

“You drove straight into Mr Dey and hit him head on so that he flew straight into the air and fell into the road motionless.

“One might have expected then for a normal, decent human being to stop at that point.

“Mr Dey could have been left with injuries which prevented him from continuing with a normal life or his life could have been taken completely by you, by your dangerous driving.”

Besides the jail sentence handed down, the judge also banned Fagan from driving for two years and ten months and issued a deprivation order relating to the BMW he was driving at the time he committed the offences.