news, latest-news, helensburgh, cyclist, p-plater, nit and run

A green P-plater who took off after hitting a cyclist near Helensburgh, leaving her victim "for dead" by the side of the road, has been jailed for a minimum of nine months. Talia Jade Van-Rysewyk was driving along a quiet stretch of the Old Princes Highway just before 6.30am on January 5 last year when she collided with cyclist Brendan Braid, flinging him from his bike. The 58-year-old accountant suffered serious injuries, however Van Rysewyk did not stop to help him, instead driving from the scene in her damaged Ford Laser. Two cyclists found Mr Braid a few minutes after the collision and called emergency services. Van Rysewyk was arrested about a week later following investigations by police. In Kiama Court on Thursday, defence lawyer John Lo Schiavo asked Magistrate Geraldine Beattie to spare Van Rysewyk from jail, saying her manner of driving immediately before the collision did not involve any type of street racing or speeding and that the accident had occured out of a moment of inattention. He said her decision not to stop and help the injured Mr Braid was "inexcusable", however pointed to psychological reports examining Van Rysewyk's background as evidence she had a "predisposition to flight" when confronted by difficult situation. However Magistrate Beattie said Van Rysewyk must have known she'd hit Mr Braid, meaning her failure to stop of help him amounted to "leaving him for dead" by the side of the road. She assessed Mr Braid's injuries as being at the top end of the scale, noting he had a loss of peripheral vision that meant he could no longer drive and reduced cognitive processing that impaired his daily living and meant he could no longer work as an accountant. Van Rysewyk was given an overall jail term of 18 months. Her nine-month non-parole period will expire in February next year. Mr Lo Schiavo immediately lodged a severity appeal on behalf of his client and sought her release on bail. Magistrate Beattie granted the bail application, ordering Van Rysewyk to live at an address in Kirrawee and report to police three times a week. She was banned from driving for three years.

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