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September 3, 2007 Monday
Road rage ends in horrific injuries
BYLINE: Anita Patterson
Echo
A TAXI driver lost part of her leg and left an innocent motorist with horrific injuries in a road rage smash.
Lisa Sargent, 37, of Cornwell Crescent, Stanford-le-Hope, saw red when Ian McKellar cut in front of her Ford Focus, while chatting on his mobile phone at a roundabout.
The cabbie tried to catch up with McKellar's Mitsubishi Land Cruiser by speeding along a bus lane in London Road, Grays, but when the two lanes merged their vehicles collided.
The smash caused Sargent to lose control of her Ford Focus, which was pushed into a lane of oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into Michael Norris's Rover.
Mr Norris, 68, suffered two shattered kneecaps, five broken ribs, a broken femur, arm and toe, a dislocated elbow and extensive bruising and swelling to his body.
The defendant spent six months in hospital and has undergone nine operations, which included having her right leg amputated below the knee. She could still lose her other leg.
Sargent pleaded guilty to careless driving at Basildon Crown Court yesterday, was fined £515 and had six points put on her licence.
Recorder Rupert Overbury told her: "You should not have been chasing after Mr McKellar to remonstrate with him.
"You were asked what you would do if it happened again and you said I would take a deep breath'.
"Had you done that on January 18 last year, neither you nor Mr Norris would have received such debilitating injuries."
McKellar, who was later charged with careless driving, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident, left the scene without reporting the crash, but walked into a police station the next day and told officers what happened.
As Sargent left court she shook hands with Mr Norris and apologised for the accident.
Mr Norris, who lives in Birmingham, had been staying at a hotel in Grays, while working as a site manager on a new construction contract, and just popped out to get a newspaper when the crash happened.
He said after the hearing he was more angry with McKellar than Sargent.
He said: "McKellar instigated the accident in the first place, however minor.
"He drove away and left two critically injured people and he never even dialled 999.
"I still attach a certain amount of blame but she has suffered as a consequence of her actions, while the other guy never got a scratch."
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