A DRIVER is set to face a trial after allegedly causing a crash which left a teenager fearing she may never be able to walk unaided again.
Darriel Rupare, 21, was allegedly involved in a collision with 18-year-old motorcyclist Lucy Sturgess.
The teenager was riding her motorbike at about 5pm on March 28 last year when she was involved in the crash with a car in Magnolia Drive, Greenstead, Colchester.
After she was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Lucy underwent surgery to irrigate her wounds, which included an open fracture and severe damage to her foot and ankle.
A year on from the crash, Lucy still suffers with “excruciating” pain and is using crutches and a wheelchair to get around.
Rupare, of Meadow Way, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, faces charges of driving without due care and attention, driving without insurance or a valid licence, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident to the police.
At a hearing at Southend Magistrates’ Court in October, he denied each of the charges.
At a further hearing before magistrates in Colchester on March 18, a trial date was set for June 8 this year.
Rupare was released on unconditional bail until that date, with the trial set to take place at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.
In the aftermath of the crash, Lucy, who lives in Colchester, told the Gazette there was a chance she may not be able to walk unaided again.
READ MORE: Lucy, 18, speaks out about horrific crash
She said: “The crash left me with shards of metal and paint in my foot which surgeons removed during the first operation I had.”
A fundraising page was launched in a bid to help Lucy on her long road to recovery, with donations soon passing the £2,000 mark.
Lucy said a year on, she has had to quit her job at a pub because of the lack of strength in her foot, while she is still undergoing counselling.
“I am still in chronic excruciating pain and I have a limp,” she said.
“I still have to use crutches and the wheelchair and I still have major scarring.
“I’m still in contact with the orthopaedic team and plastic surgery team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.”
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