[visordown.com] - Police footage shows wheelie crash from rider and drivers view

[Ninjette Newsbot]

THIS is the moment a motorcyclist escaped with minor injuries after bodging a 70mph wheelie and sliding into the path of an oncoming van.

On-board footage from the bike and a dashboard camera in the van captured two views of the crash, both of which have been released by Sussex Police in a YouTube video.

It shows Lee Oliver, of Horsham, losing control and high-siding onto the wrong side of the road.

The 38-year-old rolls into a van before sliding another 15 metres down the road. Police say the van was forced to brake so suddenly that a following car struck it from behind.

Both Oliver and another rider, Lee Cunningham, 39, had on-board which recorded their speed.

Before the crash, Oliver had reached 130mph on the Cuckfield bypass while Cunningham hit 137mph, as well as travelling at almost three times the 30mph speed limit on another stretch of road.

The crash happened on the B2102 in Uckfield at around 9am on May 18 last year.

Cunningham and Oliver pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Lewes Crown Court last week.

Each was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, a four-year driving ban and ordered to do 200 hours of community service. They were also each fined £1,000 with £700 costs.

Sergeant Huw Watts, from Surrey and Sussex roads policing unit, said: ‘When you watch the video, it seems amazing that Oliver escaped with just minor injuries and concussion.

‘If he had come off his bike just seconds later he could have gone under the wheels of the van and been seriously injured or even killed.

‘Motorcyclists are vulnerable road users who usually come off worst when they are involved in a collision but this case shows how some can put themselves at risk by abusing the fact that their machines can go fast and perform stunts.

‘Every road user needs to think whether they are putting themselves in unnecessary danger and what they can do to avoid a trip to hospital.

‘The roads are no place for stunts or speeding.’

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