South Shields teenager crashed friend's mum's motorbike into Audi, then left it propped up against a tree and fled

A teenager has been banned from driving after giving into temptation and pinching a motorbike he was storing off-road for a friend’s mum.
The incident happened in Readhead Road.The incident happened in Readhead Road.
The incident happened in Readhead Road.

Kyle Kennedy, 19, took the KTM 250 for a spin but crashed it into an Audi Q2 car in Readhead Road, near Harton Cemetery, South Shields.

Kennedy, of Heaton Gardens, Whiteleas, propped the bike against a tree and fled on Sunday, May 9, but was traced, a court heard.

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Magistrates in South Tyneside disqualified him from driving for a year and ordered him to pay his victim £150 compensation.

Prosecutor Rebecca Gibson said: “The mum wanted the motorcycle stored as she was having building work done to her driveway.

“She asked her son if he knew anyone, and she paid the defendant £150 to store it for her. She assumed it would be kept safely in a garage or storage area.

“A police officer attended her home and informed her that the motorcycle had been involved in an accident.

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“She was unaware it had left storage or was being used on the roads. She did not give permission for him to drive the motorcycle.”

Mrs Gibson said another officer attended the crash scene and found the Audi with damage to a rear panel and its boot.

She added: “The Audi driver said she was traveling onto the roundabout from Sunderland Road and the motorbike had collided with her.”

At an earlier hearing, Kennedy pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent, failing to stop after an accident, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

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Jason Smith, defending, said: “Kyle accepts he committed the offence and that there was an accident.

“He accepts that temptation got the best of him when his friend asked him to look after the bike. He takes issue with being at fault for the accident.”

Magistrates also sentenced him to a 12-month community order, with a requirement of 15 days of rehabilitation work and 100 hours of unpaid work.

The driving ban was imposed for the offence of taking a vehicle without consent, and there was no separate penalty for the other offences.

He must pay a £95 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

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