Elite triathlete Mark Scott.
The driver who hit popular triathlete Mark Scott, leaving him with significant head injuries, has been sentenced to six months' home detention but is appealing the term, claiming the penalty is too severe.
Martin Gerald English was set to start his home detention yesterday after fronting Wollongong Local Court but the sentence was stayed, pending a district court appeal next month.
English, 51, was driving through Primbee with his 11-year-old daughter on June 18 last year when his car struck Mr Scott, throwing him over the top of the vehicle like a "rag doll", the court heard yesterday.
The Tarrawanna cyclist had been on a 2½-hour recovery ride with his father, Bob Scott, when English's car struck him, leaving the 28-year-old with serious head trauma.
English, of Shell Cove, told police that the sun had been in his eyes and he had simply not seen Mr Scott or his father, a statement before the court said.
Mr Scott is in Liverpool Hospital's Brain Injury Clinic. He has undergone several surgeries since the accident but is now in a minimally conscious state.
English, who pleaded guilty to negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, was driving his young daughter to netball around 8am on the day of the accident.
Mr Scott, decked out in bright green and black riding gear, had met his father on Elliots Road in Fairy Meadow about 6am before the pair cycled out towards Windang.
As they began the journey back, they rode north along the Primbee Bypass before starting to take a sweeping right-hand bend. About 50 metres north, Bob Scott heard a noise that sounded like a plastic bucket being hit by a car, the court heard.
Bob turned to his right, where his son had been riding, and noticed he was no longer there.
He then looked forward and saw Mr Scott being thrown over English's car and onto the ground.
Bob Scott immediately rushed to assist his son, who was lying on the ground near the kerb with blood gushing from his head.
Defence barrister Jane Healey told the court English had no criminal record, a good driving history and was an active member of the community.
She said her client readily accepted the devastating impact of the accident on Mr Scott's family and the community.
The severity appeal is set to be heard in Wollongong District Court on November 23.