Man admits causing serious injury by dangerous driving
A PENSIONER needed surgery after the car she had just parked was struck by a speeding sports car.
The 85-year-old woman suffered a broken femur and head injuries and needed surgery to her knee after her Ford Fiesta was hit by a high-powered BMW M4 which was travelling at twice the 20mph speed limit in Brynteg, Clydach.
The BMW then went on to hit another stationary vehicle, a Dacia, pushing the two cars up against the wall of an adjacent property before coming to a stop at a right angle in the middle of the road.
Swansea Crown Court was told the pensioner needed a three-week stay in hospital following the incident on September 11 last year and feared she would lose her independence.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling said she had pulled up in a designated parking bay outside her home after visiting a friend in Morriston and had just removed her seatbelt and was opening her glove box when the car was struck.
“She heard a really loud bang and suddenly feeling as though she were floating around the car. The next thing she remembers is waking up in Morriston Hospital.
“The collision was caused by this defendant who had driven at speed along Brynteg and accelerated sharply, even in his account, from a shop known as Bev’s Shop.
“A neighbour who was in his living room saw the victim park her car and heard a car revving up down the road. He said it sounded like screaming and then saw the BMW flying down the road into the collision with the Fiesta.”
Behind the wheel was Jamie Jones of Ramsden Gardens in Clydach. He remained at the scene while police, ambulance, and fire crews attended with the latter which helped remove the casualty from the car.
Mr Pulling said Jones complained “everyone was shouting at him” following the incident and a roadside breath test drew a reading of 51mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. A second reading later at Swansea Central Police Station read 32mg – just under the 35mg limit.
He told police he had been drinking at the Three Compasses pub in Hebron Road prior to the incident and had consumed two double vodka and blackcurrants but had gone looking for his autistic 12-yearold son who had gone missing. His vehicle had accelerated from zero to 30mph in two seconds and he described the incident as “a freak accident”. The 48-year-old admitted a single charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Mitigating, Ian Ibrahim told the court Jones had not intended to drive that day after going to the pub but had received a call from the mother of their son – for whom Jones had sole custody – to say she had been unable to get hold of him on the phone.
Mr Ibrahim said: “He accepts complete responsibility for his actions on that day. His exact words are: ‘There is not a day goes by when I do not think about what I have done, the damage I have done.’ It preys on his mind every single day. [The victim] is driving again but he can’t get over the harm he has caused and suffers from anxiety and depression. But he will do whatever he can to assist this lady - he just felt compelled to find his son.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court his victim said although she had recovered from the physical impacts of the incident her biggest fear was losing her independence and she had worried she would not be able to drive again because other family members relied on her.
Sentencing, Judge Huw Rees said: “The forceful impact which you caused made her suffer serious injuries. She had lacerations to the back of her head and her lower thigh and femur and her knee.
“She was alighting from the vehicle when she was injured and she was injured because of your driving – because you were travelling at speed along Brynteg. You accelerated sharply and excessively.”
Jones was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.