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Jongewward gulity

May 6, 2009
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Australian champion to be sentenced next month

Australian cross country mountain biker Chris Jongewaard will be sentenced next month after being found guilty of criminal driving offences. Jongewaard left Matthew Rex, a fellow cyclist and former training partner, with serious injuries after the February 2007 accident.

The verdict was handed down in the South Australian District Court today, with just Wayne Chivell finding Jongewaard guilty of aggravated driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident. Jongewaard was found not guilty of causing serious harm by dangerous driving, the original charge which the four time national champion pled not guilty to.

Jongewaard and Rex had been out celebrating the latter’s 22nd birthday with a group of friends on the night of the accident. The court was told Jongewaard had been speeding and drink-driving when he hit Rex, who was cycling at the time.

Chivell said the reckless and dangerous way in which Rex was riding was a substantial cause of the accident, but it did not relieve Jongewaard of his responsibility for causing the injuries. Rex had also been drinking prior to the accident, with witnesses also telling the court earlier in the trial they believed Rex had taken drugs earlier that evening.

Rex was left with a broken back, broken hip, fractured leg, punctured lung, severed arteries and internal bleeding following the accident. Jongewaard was omitted from Australia’s Beijing Olympic Games squad after being charged over the incident.

Jongewaard will be sentenced on September 7


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jongewaard-guilty-of-hit-and-run
 
Jun 16, 2009
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GiantRider said:
Has anyone heard how Matthew Rex is doing?

All second-hand knowledge.

Never will be the same athlete as what he was and has sworn off riding on the road, but is able walk, ride and hold a job. I know the nurses working emergency the night Matt came in were surprised when they found out he was walking again.
 
Jul 11, 2009
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badboyberty said:
Media in Australia are saying the Federal sports minister is calling for Jongewaard's disciplinary hearing by CA be brought forward to stop him riding the World's next week.

I suspect they'd do him a favour by not letting him ride, he won't exactly be crowd favourite now the papers have picked up on the story.

Its very sad that this case may become a political football. The media have represented this case in a very strage, often one sided manner and now that the media w.hore Nick X has got involved I dont think that it is going to get any better.

Chris lost his place in the Olympics (for the second time) because of this situation....why should CA punish him further, isnt this for a court to decide? It would in no way be doing him a favour if they blocked him riding. Chris still has a lot of support in the Australian cycling commumity and after all these are the only people that are going to watch the world champs anyway.

If you read the full judges verdict you might get a better picture of the situation. It is a shame that the media has picked up certain points and completely ignored others.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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53 x 11 said:
Its very sad that this case may become a political football. The media have represented this case in a very strage, often one sided manner and now that the media w.hore Nick X has got involved I dont think that it is going to get any better.

Coming so soon after the Eugene McGee fiasco of course it was going to become a political football.

It is weird that this is the first time I've heard of a cyclist riding at night without lights or a helmet and the driver of the car is getting most of the blame.
 
Jul 11, 2009
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Yeah, its important to remember that this case has almost nothing in common with the Eugene McGoober trial except that it involves a motorist and cyclist. I do not think that this is a good case for political point scoring. South Australian cycling needs time to heal.
 
BigEv68 said:

Man this is just such a soap opera. The thing that sticks in my craw is that here in the good old US&A a stone sober cyclist riding on the shoulder in broad dalight can be killed by a motorist dialing a cell phone and the cops treat it like just an "unfortunate" accident. Not really unavoidable when these bike riders insist on mixing on the streets with the rightful users. I guess cyclists are second class citizens whether they are cycling or behind the wheel of an auto.
Not that I'm saying it wasn't a horible accident, but I don't see how this one was all the car drivers fault, and it seems to me that he would have gotten off easier if he wasn't a cyclist himself. If he would have been some poor drunk construction worker driving home from work it would have been the fault of the ****ed off his mind cyclist riding in the traffic lane with no lights on a dark rural street.