Cyclist fined £500 after Regent's Park collision leaves woman with multiple facial fractures

A 45-year-old cyclist who struck a pedestrian in Regent's Park and left her with several facial fractures pleaded guilty on Wednesday to riding without due care and attention and was fined £500.

The incident in May 2024 left 53-year-old Paola Dos Santos unconscious after she was hit while crossing Hanover Terrace road. Doctors later recorded fractures to her jawbone, cheekbone, eye socket and fractured sinuses.

Westminster Magistrates' Court ordered Matthew Thornley, of Camden, northwest London, to pay £2,500 in compensation, plus a £200 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs. Thornley, a director at an architecture firm, had been riding with a group from Club Peloton when the crash occurred.

Prosecutors said Thornley was riding on the wrong side of the road and attempted to overtake a car on Hanover Terrace before colliding with Dos Santos. The defendant initially denied riding without due care and attention and had been due to stand trial this week, but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday.

At earlier stages of the case Thornley disputed that he had been exceeding the park's 20mph speed limit and said he was performing an "evasive manoeuvre" to avoid a stopped car. The court record shows the plea change led to the summary penalty and compensation order issued by the magistrates.

Media reports described the £500 fine as "paltry and insulting," reflecting criticism from some members of the public and campaigners who have called for tougher sanctions in collisions involving vulnerable road users. Court documents do not record detailed victim statements in the hearing summary.

The case underscores ongoing concerns about cyclist conduct and pedestrian safety in central London parks, where recreational group rides and commuter cyclists share roads with pedestrians and vehicles. Local authorities and park managers have previously highlighted a 20mph speed limit within Regent's Park, and police and council bodies periodically issue guidance aimed at reducing conflicts between different road users.

Thornley's conviction at Westminster Magistrates' Court closes the criminal proceedings recorded in this matter; further civil or regulatory actions, if any, were not detailed in the court summary made available following the hearing.