The father of a young boy who was left in a wheelchair after a biker smashed into him at 50mph has said the sentence imposed earlier this week a “cop-out”.
Jake Henry, 18, careered into the 10-year-old and a parked car in Kincorth last summer.
He was riding a bike at more than twice the 20mph speed limit while uninsured, without a proper licence and while on bail.
After the Cairngorm Drive incident, he fled the scene.
The young boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was so badly injured that he was left in a wheelchair, and now, eight months on, he still requires the use of crutches.
Henry was sentenced to 15 months detention when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday, as well as a two year ban from driving.
But the boy’s father believes the punishment doesn’t match the severity of the crime.
Since the crash, the 10-year-old boy, who can not be named for legal reasons, is still in the process of recovery.
His father said: “He’s not where he was at, he was a fit young boy, but now his confidence has really taken a knock.
“It can happen whenever. Let’s say we’re out and about and we go to the football, he could start crying just walking to the game.
“It affects him on a day to day basis. Needless to say, he’s going to be scarred for life both physically and emotionally.
“He’s out of his wheelchair now, he walks sometimes with crutches, sometimes without – he’s definitely getting better as time goes on, but whether he’s ever going to be 100% again?
“We’ll just have to wait and see.
“The sheriff could have imposed the maximum of five years. I don’t know what you should be doing to get that five years.
“To me, it makes no sense.
“If you’re knocking down a kid, and you’ve been going more than double the speed limit, without a license, or insurance, outside a school – I can’t understand why you don’t get a full sentence.
“Right now, we’re just going to look to the future and hopefully everything will go back to normal.”