Car race led to head-on smash
AN uninsured driver who had a race with a friend along a Valley road before a head-on crash has avoided jail.
Arron Barlow, of Grane Road, Haslingden, drove his Mercedes at ‘excessive speeds’ along the 30mph Haslingden Old Road against Peugeot 206 GTi driver Jacob Stables after they were returning from a Rawtenstall pub, a court heard.
Burnley Crown Court heard Stables lost control of his car as he tried to overtake Barlow and another Volvo on Kirk Hill Road and collided with a Mini travelling in the opposite direction. Ten days after the incident Barlow posted on social media: “I were racing Jake when it happened. Ha ha ha.
“Don’t tell anyone at all that though”.
Barlow, 22, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance and was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months with 140 hours’ unpaid work and disqualified from driving for two years.
Stables, then 23, of Bury Road, Rawtenstall, was jailed for nine months back in October 2015 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drugs.
William Donnelly, prosecuting, told the court how the incident happened at around 8pm on May 2, 2015, as the men were travelling towards Haslingden.
Following the collision Barlow stopped his car and returned to the scene but left before the police arrived.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, self-employed window cleaner Richard Shepherd, who was driving the Mini, told how his ‘quality of life is at the lowest it has ever been’ since the collision.
Mr Shepherd, who lives in Rawtenstall, said ‘physically he still struggles significantly’ and is unable to complete a full day’s work due to constant back pain, or ‘carry out simple day to day tasks’ like cooking a meal for his family or mowing the lawn. The victim said he can’t walk 150 metres without being in pain and it had a significant effect on a recent family holiday abroad.
The statement added: “I’m in constant pain which makes me feel depressed and angry.
“Throughout my life I have always been active but I’ve recently put up my bike for sale because I can’t ever foresee being able to engage again in active hobbies.”