Young driver hit tree after he lost control
TEENAGER PASSED DRIVING TEST JUST MONTHS EARLIER
A CARELESS driver smashed into a tree – just months after passing his test, as he took his teenage pals for a late-night drive.
Bowen Lloyd Burnell Whitcomb lost control as he drove a Skoda Yeti along an unclassified road in Warden, Northumberland , a court heard.
The car crashed into a tree, causing one of the passengers to suffer a broken leg.
And, after Whitcomb, 18, admitted driving without due car and attention in court, he was told he could have killed his pals.
Chair of the bench at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Paddy Watters, said: “You have been very lucky. You could have had three dead people there because that is a big tree.”
The court heard how Whitcomb, of Stagshaw House in Corbridge, picked up two friends at around 11.30pm on Thursday, April 5 with the intention of driving into Hexham .
However, while driving along the country road he lost control near a bend and crashed into a tree.
Iain Jordan, prosecuting, explained that the defendant had passed his driving test in January.
He said: “The offence is based on a single-vehicle road traffic collision. This occurred on a minor road. The speed limit at the point of this collision is 60mph.
“It involves a Skoda Yeti driven by Mr Whitcomb, who passed his driving test in January of this year. He is 18 now, but was 17 at the time of this accident.”
Mr Jordan described how Whitcomb lost control of his car.
He said: “The car started to slide. It did not negotiate the bend but collided with the tree. The bonnet was crushed.”
One of Whitcomb’s passengers suffered a broken leg in the smash, while the other was left with lower back pain, the court was told.
Andy Travis, defending, told magistrates that the stretch of road on which the collision occurred was “notorious” among local drivers, and the scene of many crashes.
“It’s a notorious piece of road in the Tyne Valley,” he said. “It is a difficult piece of road to drive if you don’t know it. “
And he explained that Whitcomb simply misread the road and was not trying to show off to his friends.
“He’s going along the road, he’s got his two friends with him. They just wanted to go into Hexham to see what’s going on,” said Mr Travis. “As Bowen approached the bridge a car came round going towards Fourstones.
“That’s a very sharp 90 degree bend. The car came round the corner with the headlights on, that temporarily dazzled Bowen.
“He was within the national speed limit, it’s just a question that he didn’t see the signs. He should have been more mindful of the fact he was approaching a bridge. He started to brake, he lost control and hit the tree. “Bowen acknowledges he didn’t read the situation correctly. He’s never tried to blame anyone else. “There was no deliberate act of showing off. It was a misunderstanding of the road conditions and his lack of experience at that time.” Whitcomb was fined £80 for the offence and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £30 victim’s surcharge. His licence was endorsed with five points.