Doesn't remind me of another recent incident at all
Except the injuries here not nearly so devastating.
And some interesting legal stuff...
Angry Cleveleys driver hit speeds of 80mph in 30mph zones after friends laughed when he stalled Ford Fiestahttps://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news ... ph-5477007Angry driver Charlie Cutajar screeched around bends and hit speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph zone before crashing head-on into an oncoming taxi.All four young people in the car and the driver of the cab were taken to hospital Preston Crown Court was told. Amazingly none of the casualties were seriously hurt.
Cutajar, 21, who lied to police later that he wasn’t at the wheel when the crash happened, was sentenced to a total of 21 months in a young offenders institute when he appeared before Recorder Ayesha Siddiqi. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and also attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The judge told him: “You were out of control. You are lucky you are not facing more serious charges today and it is lucky the injuries were not more serious than they were.”
The court was told that in December 2023 Cutajar and his pals – one of them his girlfriend - were returning to the Thornton Cleveleys area from a day trip to the Lake District in a Ford Fiesta when he volunteered to take a turn at driving. He had no licence and no insurance.
One of the friends said that when he took the wheel his driving was “erratic and unsafe” and was higher than the speed limits particularly when taking bends.
On Skippool Road in Thornton Cutajar stalled the car. His passengers laughed and that seemed to annoy him, so he set off at high speed travelling between 70mph and 80mph. The friends asked him to slow down, but he ignored them.
Then, as the car took a sharp bend, he lost control, veering across the road onto the opposite carriageway before smashing head-on into the cab. Dashcam footage of the crash taken from the taxi was shown in court. The collision caused airbags in the vehicles to deploy and significant damage was caused to both cars.
One casualty was trapped in the wreckage before being helped out. The taxi driver, who complained of a neck injury, said in a victim impact statement that he had suffered a loss of earnings due to the “reckless and selfish actions” of Cutajar.
Since the crash he had restricted movement in his neck “which I have to manage and live with for the rest of my life”.
But the prosecution said it could not be ascertained if the arthritis had been caused by the collision or not and so Cutajar had not been charged with the more serious offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
“I am extremely angry towards him,” the cabbie added in the statement. “He knew what he was doing by his attempts to cover up his actions (after the crash). I am thankful I was not carrying a passenger at the time.”
One of the car passengers who suffered an ankle fracture said in her victim statement she had been unable to walk for six weeks and had to use crutches. But the emotional impact on her had been greater because it had affected her mental health.
“He could have killed three people including me, or even himself,” she said.
The court was told that Cutajar, of Elm Avenue, Thornton Cleveleys, had initially claimed one of the two females in the car had been driving and at first in the confusion she backed that up, before the truth came out. He had given “no comment” answers to all questions when interviewed. He had previous driving offences on his record at the age of 17.
Defence barrister Tom Lord said his client had attempted to lie his way out of the situation but was still very young and had “a deep-rooted immaturity”.
He said the offences crossed the custody threshold, but he urged the judge to suspend any prison sentence. Cutajar had shown sincere remorse for what he had done that day.
Recorder Siddiqi said Cutajar had been asked to take over the driving that day, but he had no licence.
According to one of his passengers he appeared not to be in control of the vehicle. At one point he had stalled the car and then set off at speed. She said the dashcam footage from the taxi of the head-on smash was “shocking.”
He had lost control of the car and the impact on the others involved had been substantial.
She told him: You lied to police and you encouraged someone else to lie. After a very serious accident your first thought was to lie.
“The decision that day to get behind the wheel was yours. You caused the injuries and damage that day.”
The judge sent Cutajar to prison for 14 months for dangerous driving and a consecutive seven months for attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months to begin when he is released from prison. But he must pass an extended driving test before he is allowed back behind the wheel.
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