Head-on crash van driver who caused 'catastrophic' injuries to two people avoids immediate jail term

George Weetman-Beeston thought he was on a dual carriageway when overtaking a car at 78mph. But the road was the single carriageway A460 Lodge Lane, which runs parallel to the M6 Toll near Cannock, and the defendant's van ploughed straight into an oncoming Vauxhall Corsa.

The car's driver, Nicola Price, and her front seat passenger, Ashley Jones, both suffered 'catastrophic' injuries.

Mr Paul Farrow, prosecuting at Stafford Crown Court, said Mrs Price has been left wheelchair-bound with multiple injuries, including to the spine, head and sternum.

Her passenger suffered internal injuries to the brain, bowel and lung. He was in hospital for three weeks and his ongoing problems include memory deficiencies.

Mr Farrow said Mrs Price and Mr Jones both worked at the Wheatsheaf pub in Great Wyrley and she was giving him a lift home on May 29 last year.

Another motorist using the road, Craig Birch, saw the van approaching quickly and then pull out straight in to the path of the oncoming vehicle.

A police accident investigator concluded that the defendant's van had been travelling at 78mph, reducing to 68mph at the point of impact.

As a result of the injuries she received, Mrs Price was initially left paralysed. She and her husband have had to sell their home and her husband has had to go part-time at work in order to care for her.

When questioned about the crash, Weetman-Beeston, who was driving a van belonging to his employers, CP Northern, said he was coming back from Birmingham on a road he had never used before and thought it was a dual carriageway.

Weetman-Beeston, aged 23, of Oldfields Crescent, Great Haywood, admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Mr Michael Hayton QC, mitigating, said his client hadn't seen the oncoming vehicle.

Weetman-Beeston was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to do 150 hours unpaid community work, banned from driving for three years with an extended test before getting his licence back, and ordered to pay £1,200 costs.

Judge Mark Eades said: "Our thoughts go out to Nicola Price and Ashley Jones. This accident has caused devastating results to them which will be permanent and they are going to have to live with that for the rest of their lives."

Weetman-Beeston drove 50,000 miles a year and had no penalty points on his licence.