Teens used car as 'weapon' to hit bike rider

Four teenagers have been sentenced for using a stolen car as a "weapon" to crash into a bike rider, who suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed.

Zak Goldsmith, 19, from Knowle, Harrison Dodds, 18, from Hengrove, and two teenagers who cannot be named due to their age, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent to cause injury at Bristol Crown Court earlier.

All four defendants were in a stolen Black Mini cooper that was used to deliberately crash into the rider - a 19-year-old man - in south Bristol on 29 May 2025.

Police said the victim underwent several days of hospital treatment for a number of injuries, including a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Michael Callum said the victim's mother could not recognise her own son in hospital because of the injuries.

He said: "There was intent to cause such an injury… you were hunting as a pack."

Emergency services were called to the junction of Mowcroft Road and Hareclive Road at about 17:30 BST on 29 May after reports of a hit and run.

Later that day police found the black Mini Cooper abandoned in Knowle.

The four defendants were arrested on 25 July after detectives identified them from CCTV footage.

Det Insp Rob Blake, from Avon and Somerset Police, said footage of the crash obtained from one of the teenagers phones helped prove their involvement.

He said: "The comments made by them before and after the collision are horrendous and leave no doubt that this was a deliberate attack."

The prosecution said the car was used as a "weapon" and the crash was carried out in "cold blood and intentionally".

None of the defendants explained the reason for the attack during police interview, the force said.

During the sentencing hearing, the court was told there was another deliberate collision involving the same stolen vehicle earlier the same day, in which two teenagers sustained less significant injuries.

Both victims said they had seen someone exit the car with a bladed weapon, the court was told.

In mitigation, defence lawyers for Goldsmith and one of the 17-year-old defendants, both denied their clients had any involvement in that incident.

Cullum accepted they were not in the vehicle at the time of the first incident, but all four were when the second attack took place.

He said the first incident could have been fatal on another day, but fortunately did not lead to serious injuries.

The judge said he took their youth into account when sentencing the defendants:

• Goldsmith, was sentenced to four years and nine months at a youth offenders' institution. He received an additional sentence of two months, to be served consecutively, and a driving disqualification for an unrelated charge and theft
• Dodds, 18 and from Hengrove, was sentenced to seven years and four months at a youth offenders' institution. He received an additional sentence of four months, to be served consecutively, and a driving disqualification for unrelated charges
• One 17-year-old boy, who denied any involvement in the first collision but accepted being the driver in the second collision, received a custodial sentence of three years and six months
• The second 17-year-old boy, who was seen to have a bladed weapon in the mobile footage, was given a custodial sentence of four years and nine months

"These were deliberate attacks involving a car, and left one young man with significant injuries," said Blake.

"The sentences handed out today show that such violence will not be tolerated. We hope the conclusion of the court proceedings brings comfort to the victim and his family."

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