Motorcyclist blinded by egg thrown by teenager speaks out over horrifying incident
A motorcyclist blinded in one eye by an egg thrown by a teenager has said he wants to know why he did it.
Marc Toone, 33, was struck by the missile on his way home from work in Wigston, Leicestershire, in January last year.
The chef was rushed to hospital, but his injuries were so bad he lost vision in his right eye and still suffers from visual perception problems and panic attacks.
On Monday at Leicester Magistrates' Court, Thomas Connors, 18, of Lutterworth, was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order after admitting to his involvement in the incident.
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Speaking following the sentencing, Mr Toone said: “No-one realises the further impact something like this can have. It’s the mental impact it has on you more than a year down the line and the effect it has on your family too.
“I have a lot of anger about what happened but I also just want to know why it happened.
“What made someone think that throwing an egg at someone was a good idea?”
Mr Toone had been riding home from work on the evening of 10 January 2020 when he noticed a vehicle ahead with its headlights on full beam and made a signal for the car to dim its lights.
He then described feeling something hitting his face, but he did not know what the object was at the time.
Mr Toone was wearing a helmet but had his visor pulled up due to the cold weather causing the visor to steam up if he kept it down.
As he pulled over after being hit in the face, it was then that Marc realised that there was “blood all over”.
He consequently underwent two operations across the next five days, but the vision in his right eye was lost.
Mr Toone said: “I have got used to what has happened but every day I get up and I look in the mirror and it is there.
“It’s a permanent reminder of what has happened and something I have to see every day.”
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Police enquiries established that an egg had been thrown from a car and a further investigation identified Connors as being involved in the incident and driving the car.
He was also linked to a number of other reports of eggs being thrown at people and vehicles in the Market Harborough area.
Police said Connors also threw eggs at a dog walker in Whetstone a month earlier, causing swelling to her face and her eyes to be sore for several days.
He pleaded guilty to unlawfully inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a series of other driving and assault offences related to other egg-throwing incidents.
He was given a 12-month detention and training order and ordered to pay £500 compensation.
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