Hit-and-run driver told police he was carjacked

Sheeba Bukuru was jailed after leaving a cyclist with life-changing injuries

A man who seriously injured a cyclist in a hit-and-run before falsely claiming his car had been stolen from him at knifepoint has been jailed.

Cambridgeshire Police said Sheeba Bukuru, 32, struck the victim after driving on the wrong side of a "keep left" bollard in Fulbourn Road, Cambridge, on 24 November last year.

He called police fifteen minutes later and claimed that a man had ordered him to get out of his car before driving off in it.

Bukuru, of Eland Way, Cambridge, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop and perverting the course of justice and was sentenced to four years in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday.

He was also handed a five-year driving ban.

Police said Bukuru left the cyclist he struck lying on the ground, bleeding and unconscious and that she may never fully recover from her injuries.

She was treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain, a broken pelvis, arm, leg and ribs, a dislocated shoulder and damaged lungs.

Officers said they found the black BMW Bukuru had been driving in Limekiln Road, several streets away from the crash.

When they arrested him on the evening of the incident, police said they found the car's keys in Bukuru's bag.

DC Fay Millen, from the serious collision investigation unit, said: "Bukuru's decision to perform a dangerous and unnecessary overtake directly resulted in the victim suffering horrendous injuries, from which she may never fully recover.

"Thanks to the actions of police, Bukuru was quickly located and arrested. He falsely told police his car had been stolen in a robbery, and only when presented with the evidence, he admitted he was the driver and there had been no robbery.

"This investigation took significant policing resources to investigate, all because Bukuru didn't want to admit to his actions.

"I hope this result gives the victim some sense of closure; however, I acknowledge no sentence will undo the injuries he needlessly caused her on that day."