Paul Stuart Meadowcroft: Driver, 50, faces Geraldton court over Bayly Street ‘hit-run’ crash with cyclist

A Spalding man facing serious road rage allegations turned his ute around and deliberately ran down a cyclist after they had a verbal stoush at a roundabout moments earlier, a Geraldton court was told today. Paul Stuart Meadowcroft, 50, appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court on charges including unlawful act or omission with intent to harm by endangering the life, health or safety of any person, failed to stop and ensure assistance received after incident occasioning grievous bodily harm and failed to report an incident occasioning death or grievous bodily harm. Police prosecutor Sgt Troy Gildersleeve told the court the cyclist, a 31-year-old man who was flown to Royal Perth Hospital, suffered internal injuries, fractured C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck, damage to his spine and partial paralysis below the neck. He told the court Mr Meadowcroft was driving a Isuzu D-Max ute as the sole occupant when he encountered his alleged victim — on his bicycle wearing a helmet on the footpath — while approaching the roundabout at Bayly Street and George Road about 1.30pm on Thursday. There was a “mix up” between the two road users about providing room for the other to pass, and the cyclist was left upset he had not been allowed to go across the road, resulting in him verbally remonstrating with Mr Meadowcroft and pulling the middle finger at him up to three times, Sgt Gildersleeve said. The court was further told Mr Meadowcroft allegedly saw the cyclist’s reaction and remonstrated back and 60m up the road did a U-turn, driving back towards the cyclist, crossing over to the wrong side of Bayly Street, mounting the kerb, crossing over the gravel verge and striking the cyclist with his front right bull bar on the footpath. Sgt Gildersleeve said the impact caused the victim to be thrown five feet in the air and he landed on a nearby fence. He alleged at no time did Mr Meadowcroft stop or report the incident, instead he drove home, hooked up his campervan and left Geraldton that evening. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras and police caught up with Mr Meadowcroft the next day at his home and took him into custody. He made no comment as police tried to interview him, the court was told. Police opposed bail, and Mr Meadowcroft, who appeared in court without a lawyer, was initially keen to make a bail application on his own before he was convinced to postpone it by Magistrate Geneveive Cleary, who was on video link from Kalgoorlie, so he could engage a lawyer. Ms Cleary told Mr Meadowcroft he only had “one shot” at a bail application. “You need a lawyer. These are very serious allegations,” she told him after hearing the alleged facts. Mr Meadowcroft, who was supported in court by his brother, was softly spoken and did not appear to show much emotion during his appearance, but was seen to be wiping at his eyes in the dock while waiting for the magistrate to be ready. He was not required to enter any pleas and was remanded in custody to reappear in the same court on Thursday. FIANCEE’S PLEA After the crash but before the arrest breakthrough, the victim’s fiancee made an emotional plea on social media to the community to help her “find justice”. Leela said her partner, who she was going to marry within weeks, now faces an uncertain future, and had been told by doctors it was a case of wait and see after he underwent surgery. “His neck is broken and we don't know how his future will look like. I'm happy that he is alive and I hope the doctors can do whatever they can do to help this lovely man, love of my life and soul partner,” she posted. Leela thanked everyone who had helped her partner after this ordeal. “Thanks soo much that you are so beautiful and lovely people. The world needs people like you,” she said. A witness posted on social media how she was trying to calm the victim down at the scene because he was “breathing funny”. “It was truly like a movie, yelling that he couldn’t feel his body,” she said.