Injured cyclist Josh Quigley 'happy' driver not charged

Josh Quigley is now being treated at a rehabilitation centre in Texas

A cyclist badly injured after being knocked off his bike while attempting to ride around the world said he is happy the driver will not be charged.

Josh Quigley, 27, from Livingston, was struck by a vehicle in Flat, Texas, on 21 December.

He was hit on Highway 36, near Temple, at 23:24 by a 60-year-old woman driving a maroon Cadillac Sedan.

Texas Department of Public Safety said the driver will not be charged following an investigation.

Now police have released the pictures of the crash scene and Mr Quigley's written-off bike to him.

Pictures of Mr Quigley's bike have now been released

Mr Quigley told BBC Scotland: "I'm happy that the driver will not be charged as I don't want her punished. It is traumatic enough to knock someone down.

"I am recovering well and I've nothing against her. Everyone makes mistakes and there was no malicious intent so I will write a letter to her when I am better to let her know this."

Mr Quigley was moved from Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas to a rehabilitation centre in Austin on Wednesday.

Doctors have banned him from flying for six weeks so meantime he is unable to return to Scotland.

Mr Quigley has had operations on a broken heel and ankle as well as a stent fitted in an artery in his neck which feeds blood to his brain.

He has 10 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a fractured pelvis and skull.

Mr Quigley's bike was written off in the crash

A Coryell County Sheriff's Office report said the driver called the police who sent a helicopter to take Mr Quigley to hospital and the road was closed.

It said the driver said Mr Quigley was unable to speak at the scene of the crash and that he was "bleeding from everywhere".

Sgt Bryan Washko, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told BBC Scotland officers had responded to a major crash on Highway 36 in Flat, Texas in Coryell County.

He said the driver had been approaching Mr Quigley from behind when she collided with him, causing him to be ejected onto the right side of the road.

"The crash investigation is complete and concludes it was an accident, Sgt Washko said. "It was not an intentional act so no charges have been filed."

Josh Quigley fractured his skull during the accident

Mr Quigley began his round-the-world trip in Edinburgh in April. He was 2,000 miles short of his 18,000 target when he was hit.

It is his seventh attempt at cycling around the world.

He said he was unsure when he would be able to return to riding his bike but that he hoped it would be in April.

The incident is one of a number of setbacks faced by Mr Quigley since he started his trip including sweat ruining his passport in Australia, which meant he had to fly back to Britain to get a new one before carrying on with his tour.

In April, just weeks into his world attempt, thieves stole his bike, which he nicknamed Braveheart, from outside a hostel in London.

Mr Quigley had been planning to cycle from Los Angeles to New York for the latest leg of his trip. But after his water bottles kept freezing in the US winter, he changed course to finish his North American leg in the warmer climate of Florida.

He embarked on the trip to beat depression and alcohol abuse.

Mr Quigley's shoe was knocked off during the crash