A man high on drink and drugs who crashed a motorcycle into a group of teenage girls as they were filming a TikTok video of themselves in a park has been jailed for four years and three months.
One girl, aged 13, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after the incident in Test Park sports ground in Millbrook, Southampton, Hampshire, on June 23 2024.
Nathan Cooper, of Rye, East Sussex, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court, after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, drink driving, drug driving, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said that one of the girls screamed at the 40-year-old to stop as he was “showing off” by riding so close to them that they could “feel the wind”.
The force spokesman said: “Witnesses said he was riding his motorbike at speed directly at the group of girls before swerving out of the way at the last second.
“One of the girls told police Cooper was riding so close that they could ‘feel the wind’ from the motorcycle as it sped past them.
“A court heard one of the girls told Cooper to stop, but he then drove straight at them and tried to go through the middle of the group before colliding with two of the girls.
“A 14-year-old girl from Southampton suffered minor injuries, while a 13-year-old girl from Southampton was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries and her recovery is ongoing.
“The incident was partly captured on a phone as the group of girls had it propped against a bag to film a TikTok video of themselves.
“CCTV also showed Cooper racing the bike around the park at dangerous speeds.”
The force spokesman said that analysis of Cooper’s breath and blood showed that he was over the drink-drive limit and the specified limit for cannabis.
The family of the seriously injured girl thanked the emergency services and medics who cared for their daughter and said in a statement released through police: “Our lives were changed completely by the actions of the defendant, Mr Cooper.
“Our daughter was left fighting for her life after being hit by a motorcycle that he was recklessly riding in Test Park that day.
“While we welcome and understand the sentence the court has passed down today, we want to say that no prison sentence can ever truly reflect the devastation and trauma that this has caused to ourselves, and our families.”
Police staff investigator Mark Furse, who led the investigation, said: “These girls were terrified by Mr Cooper’s continued attempts to frighten them.
“They screamed after he got really close to them on one occasion but even then he continued to show off, before finally losing control and injuring two young girls.
“No sensible person would behave this way and it is a miracle nobody was killed.”
