Serious injury saves crash driver from jail
A young motorist whose dangerous driving ended in a horrifying midnight crash has been spared jail because of the terrible injuries he suffered.
John Finney, who was alone in the Vauxhall Astra, accelerated away from a set of lights and overtook a car on the wrong side of a set of bollards at high speed, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Then the 22-year-old security guard lost control while racing into a right hand bend on the wrong side of Brettell Lane, Brierley Hill, explained Mrs Sati Ruck, prosecuting.
The Astra clipped a kerb, mounted part of the pavement and was flung into spin during which Finney was ejected into the road, suffering serious head injuries.
The empty car crashed into road signs and came to a rest among the debris, added the prosecutor.
The badly-hurt driver was taken to hospital where a sample of blood taken from him some time later showed he was below the drink-drive limit.
The reading was 66 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
The legal limit is 80.
Miss Felicity Campbell, defending, said: "He is extremely relieved that nobody else was injured.
"He was the one person who was.
"He suffered life changing injuries as a result of this and now faces two years of rehabilitation.
"He never wishes to sit in the front seat of a car again.
"He is very fortunate to have supportive friends and family.
"He is living with his partner and has the backing of his mother."
As a result of the 'extremely foolish actions' that triggered the July 4 crash he lost the hearing in one of his ears, requires therapy to speak properly again and has to overcome extreme fatigue and memory loss, the court was told.
Miss Campbell pointed out that a suspended sentence would allow the defendant to receive the intensive therapy needed to help him towards an independent life.
Finney, from Leys Crescent, Brockmoor, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and having neither insurance nor a full driving licence.
Judge Barry Berlin told him: "You were just below the drink-drive limit when tested and if anybody had been coming in the opposite direction when you went round that corner on the wrong side of the road, you could have killed them and yourself.
"This was sustained, high speed, dangerous driving.
"My initial instinct was to send you to a long period of incarceration but, purely because of your sad circumstances, I will suspend the term.
"Nothing the court can do can match what has already happened to you."
