Overview
- Michael Hill, 24, admitted causing serious injury by driving while disqualified and related offences, received a 46‑month driving ban and must sit an extended re‑test.
- Lee Oliver, 31, admitted assisting an offender and driving offences, was jailed for 12 months and banned from driving for 23 months.
- The collision happened on August 21 on Westminster Road when Hill struck the child on an almost silent Surron e‑bike, and the boy was airlifted to Newcastle’s RVI.
- Hill fled after breaking his arm, changed clothes and gave a false account at a hospital before CCTV led to his arrest at James Cook University Hospital on September 1; Oliver was arrested later that day.
- Prosecutors said Hill tested positive for cannabis and cocaine hours before the crash, and the judge condemned the pair’s ‘cowardice’ as Hill was also sentenced for separate dangerous driving and drug‑dealing offences.