A BRAVE mum shared harrowing images of her 16-year-old son's injuries after he was left for dead by a drunk businessman in a hit-and-run.
Kiernan Roberts was left with a broken neck and a disfigured head after president of Hull's Chamber of Commerce Owen Finn knocked him off his bike and fled in his Mercedes.
The 64-year-old then drove 130 miles for an alibi, leaving the youngster sprawled on the road in Elloughton, East Yorks.
Kiernan's mum has decided to release images of her son's injuries after Finn was yesterday jailed for three years for the horrific collision.
She told the Grimsby Telegraph: "We want Finn to see what he has taken from Kiernan. We want him to see for himself what Kiernan has lost.
"We partly want Finn to see what he has done and not simply think he can dismiss it as a simple 'bad thing', as described by his defending barrister in court.
"We also want people to see the sheer grit and determination Kiernan has shown over the last nine months, plus the amazing care he has received at Hull Royal and Castle Hill as he has been on the continuing journey."
Kiernan had been cycling home from his part-time job just after 11pm on October 7, last year, when he was hit from behind.
Finn, who was more than twice the legal driving limit, was returning from a chamber function at Drewton's near South Cave, an event attended by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and Yorkshire cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott.
He claimed to have only drunk one glass of red wine, but CCTV from the venue showed him downing red and white wine, a rum shot, and "various" cocktails.
Finn, of Birmingham, later admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, and drink-driving.
Sentencing Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, Recorder of Hull and East Riding, told Finn: "I state at once that this is an exceptionally serious case.
"It reveals the utterly dreadful consequences of drinking and driving, particularly when the driver is driving a car having consumed over twice the permitted level of alcohol for driving.
“Your behaviour that night was shameful in the extreme.
"Your cowardice after the collision was breathtaking in its callous disregard for the life of the boy who you maimed, leaving him as you did in the roadway while you made off in an endeavour to evade justice.”
Outside Hull Crown Court Kiernan’s sister, Katrina McLane, 30, read a statement on behalf of the family and said: "Kiernan has been treasured his entire life yet was left alone, discarded and potentially dying in the road.
“When he was born, he united our family in love and has been our beloved boy ever since. He is the best of us – principled and kind: loved beyond measure.
“As a family we would often marvel at him when he was younger and wonder where his life would take him – medical school, parliament or political journalism; musician.
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“Never did we contemplate his life and ours being so completely and irreversibly shattered in an instant.
“Owen Finn is responsible for this and it is right and fitting that he receives this jail sentence in order for redemption to take place, particularly in light of the fact that he went to such measures to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.
“It is unfortunate the law does not allow harsher sentencing for this offence. The sentencing guidelines do not come close to reflecting the pain and suffering Kiernan and our family have endured.
“The family would like to thank everyone who has supported us and Kiernan in his journey of survival; the police and everyone who assisted him in their investigation, and the media for respecting our privacy during such an emotionally difficult time.”
Sixth Former Kiernan was a "star" student at South Hunsley school, had the world at his feet but needed life-saving surgery and is still too unwell to be released from hospital.
Kiernan, the court was told, was an experienced, "careful and competent" cyclist who "took road safety seriously", and was "closely familiar with the local roads." He had even upgraded his front and rear lights to improve his visibility to other road users.
Mr Thackray said: "Even if the defendant did not use his full-beam headlights, the rear cycle light would have been clearly visible at 193 metres, which would have given Mr Finn eight to 13 seconds prior to to the collision to see the cycle and avoid it."
The collision left rider and debris strewn across the road, and even though Kiernan's bicycle lights were no longer illuminated, a sober driver who came across the scene minutes later with his wife was able to stop, get out, and render assistance to the stricken youngster.
Kiernan's father, who had been walking alongside him on the footpath minutes earlier, was next on the scene and was confronted by the unimaginable sight of his son being treated in the road by a paramedic.
Kiernan was on his way home from his part-time job at The Gallery Restaurant in South Cave, where his father had met him at 11pm.
"He was pushing his cycle with the lights illuminated," Mr Thackray said.
"They were walking together on a footpath towards home. Shortly after the Ellerker junction, Kiernan asked to cycle the remainder of the journey. His father agreed."
The windscreen of Finn's Mercedes was smashed on the passenger side. He later told police he thought his car had been "hit by a brick from the A63".
That did not explain why he then felt the need to change his clothes at his ex-wife's near Brantingham, before going on a 130-mile journey to Birmingham, where his mother lived.
After changing his clothes, he took a "long route" to rejoin the A63 "in order to avoid the collision site".
John Thackray, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court witnesses described him being "drunk", and "unsteady, wobbly, with altered speech".
Another said he "couldn't stand up without holding onto the back of a chair".
Finn then made the terrible decision to get in his car.
Even Finn's barrister, Gary Bell QC, said he had behaved with "cowardice".
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