JAILED: 97mph driver who left friend paralysed after ploughing into tree
A man who caused 'catastrophic injuries' to his 19-year-old friend after the car he was driving collided with a tree has been sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Tobias Dell, aged 24, of Inkerman Street, Heathtown, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
He drove at 97 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone along the Wolverhampton Road, Sedgley, before colliding with a tree on October 29 last year.
Dell, who pleaded guilty to all charges and appeared at Wolverhampton Crown court on Friday, also received a four-month custodial sentence to run concurrently for failure to provide a blood sample to be tested for alcohol and a four-year extension to a 14-month disqualification from driving that will commence when he is released from prison.
He will serve half of his sentence and will then be released on licence.
Following the collision, passenger and owner of the Seat Ibiza car, Thomas Bailey, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, where scans showed he had broken his neck.
Since the accident, Mr Bailey has been paralysed from the waist down, with limited mobility to his arms and hands, is incontinent and will require life-long care.
Judge Peter Barrie said: "These are catastrophic injuries that have had serious long lasting effects on Mr Bailey."
The court heard how Dell had asked to drive Mr Bailey's newly purchased car on October 29 and told him that he was insured to drive. The pair then travelled to the home of Dell's then girlfriend, Amy Crosley, where it is believed they drank vodka and cokes.
They then decided to travel back to Mr Bailey's home, along the Wolverhampton Road. Prosecutor Mr Robert Edwards told the court how Miss Crosley described how she saw Dell 'suddenly accelerate away'.
Collision specialists confirmed that the car was travelling at 60 miles per hour at the point of impact.
Defending Dell, Mr Christopher O'Gorman said: "The remorse that my client has expressed has been genuine and deep felt. Not only has he lost a friend, but he has caused serious and life-changing injuries to that friend."
