Student crashed into taxi on M6 at 94mph, badly injuring driver
CABBIE HALTED ON THE HARD SHOULDER TO HELP FRIEND
A UNIVERSITY of Leicester student left a taxi driver with devastating injuries, including a fractured skull and collapsed lungs, after ploughing into his taxi.
Ben Kerr, 19, drove a Range Rover Evoque into the taxi at 94mph on the hard shoulder of the M6, causing it to fly into the driver, who was standing next to it.
The taxi driver had got out to help a friend.
Kerr ran from the scene after the crash, on the northbound carriageway approaching Spaghetti Junction, in Birmingham, while “good samaritan” Usman Waheed lay fighting for his life after being struck by his own vehicle.
Kerr, from London, hid from police in a gully before being chased and arrested. At the police station he refused to provide a breath sample.
He pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen.
At 4am on November 1, Mr Waheed was returning from Birmingham Airport when he saw a colleague had pulled over on the hard shoulder between Junctions 5 and 6. He pulled up in front of him to check he was okay before returning to his own vehicle.
Kerr was returning from a friend’s birthday party, where he claimed to have consumed his last alcoholic drink at 6pm.
Other motorists, who had slowed to about 60mph due to the heavy rain, witnessed him zoom past with one describing him as a “lunatic”, prosecutor Ian Ball told the court.
CCTV captured him reaching speeds of 99mph while the point of collision was clocked at 94mph.
Kerr braked as he changed lanes but admitted losing control of the Range Rover, which belonged to his cousin.
He fled from the scene and threw away his mobile phone.
When officers persuaded Kerr to stop running and pinned him, they could “smell alcohol on him”, Mr Ball said.
Mr Waheed suffered a catalogue of injuries including a fractured skull, broken ribs, broken shoulder blades, partially collapsed lungs and a broken pelvis.
He has had multiple operations but was discharged from hospital in March due to the pandemic.
Judge Francis Laird QC, passing sentence, said: “He stopped as a good samaritan to help his colleague and that’s why he was walking on the hard shoulder.
“A more tragic set of circumstances involving a collision on the motorway it is hard to imagine.”
Describing the victim’s injuries as “catastrophic” he said: “He can’t walk without crutches. He is in constant pain which interrupts his sleep.
“His brain injury affects his memory and although he will make improvements over time, they will take years and it’s possible they will never fully be achieved.”
Judge Laird said the fact Kerr ran from the scene, disposed of his mobile and failed to give a breath test were aggravating features.
But he confirmed the sentence would be suspended after taking into the account his age, lack of offending and previous good character.
He has one year left of a sociology degree at the University of Leicester, the court heard.
Kerr, of Leytonstone, London, must also complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work. He was disqualified from driving for four years and ordered to pay £425 in court costs.
Patrick Kelly, mitigating, said Kerr “panicked” after the crash, causing him to run. He said the discarded mobile phone contained pictures of the defendant smoking cannabis which he feared would be used against him.
Mr Kelly said: “He is a young man who has a future ahead of him, he is not someone the general public need protecting from.
“He has shown remorse, I believe he will not trouble the courts again.”
Kerr was sentenced to 22 months in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years.