Clifford Cage, 68, has avoided jail after he crashed his e-bike into 91-year-old Jim Blackwood and killed him
A man who crashed his e-bike into a 91-year-old man and killed him while he was taking his bins out has walked free from court.
Clifford Cage was on his way to work when he rode his bike onto the pavement, slamming into Jim Blackwood. The pensioner was rushed to hospital on the day of the collision on July 6, 2023, but his health tragically deteriorated and he died three months later on October 13.
It was accepted that he would not have died had he not been hit, despite his age and frailty. This prompted Cage, 68, to be charged with manslaughter in a case which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said is a “legal first”.
He was handed a 15-month sentence, suspended for two years, at Maidstone Crown Court today. The defendant and Mr Blackwood’s daughter Christine White hugged in the courtroom after the hearing concluded, reports Birmingham Live.
Speaking outside court, Ms White said it was a historic judgment which has a wider impact that cyclists can no longer endanger pedestrians ‘with impunity’. She said: “Everyone has to realise that it is illegal to go off-road, and that illegality will be punished.”
Cage had told police in a voluntary interview that he began cycling on the pavement along City Way, Rochester, after two near misses with cars while riding on the road, Maidstone Crown Court heard. He said he was not “peddling mad” and estimated he had been travelling at about 12mph.
Cage also said he did not see Mr Blackwood, describing how the victim stepped out from behind a bush and he had no time to stop. The tree was overgrown and Mr Blackwood’s family had complained about it on an earlier date, the court heard.
Cage, who stayed at the scene and dialled 999, did “express genuine remorse”. He initially denied manslaughter but later pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2025.
In a statement read to the court, Mr Blackwood’s wife of 72 years, Hanni Blackwood, said she misses him all the time. “There’s not a day I don’t think of him,” she said. As a former Army man, Mr Blackwood served in Malaya and Northern Ireland “but was killed outside his front door”, Mrs Blackwood added.
Danny Moore KC, defending, said Cage stayed at the scene and “did what he could to help”, adding he is “a decent human being”. He said: “He knows a moment of careless driving has resulted in tragedy. The knowledge his actions have caused the death of another human being is something he will carry with him for the rest of his life.”
Cage was made subject to a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 180 hours of unpaid work.
The CPS believes the case is the first of its kind for a conviction of manslaughter connected to cycling on the pavement. District crown prosecutor Matt Beard said Cage’s e-bike was not powerful enough for laws for driving offences, such as death by dangerous driving, to apply in this case.
There was a gap between the lesser offence of the Victorian law from 1861 of wanton and furious driving, which offered sentencing powers for judges up to two years, or manslaughter which holds a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
He said: “Our view was that yes, in this case, it really did meet that threshold to pass the public interest test to make sure that we do charge manslaughter.”
