Suspended prison sentence following car crash
Posted: October 20, 2015
Posted in: Car Accidents Head and Brain Injuries Road Traffic Accidents
A man has been sentenced to a suspended prison sentence after his dangerous driving caused a car accident that left a teacher critically injured. 78-year-old John King pleaded not guilty to the sentence that his dangerous driving caused an accident, claiming that a medical condition resulted in his loss of consciousness during the approach to the roundabout where the accident happened. Despite pleading not guilty, the jury convicted him at Ipswich Crown Court in August and he was sentenced to a two year suspended prison sentence.
The collision happened on 2 April last year, which resulted in Bacton Middle School teacher Helen Hemy being airlifted to hospital. She suffered multiple rib fractures, internal bleeding, a blood clot on her brain and punctured lung in the accident. She was placed under an induced coma twice during her 15 days at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and had to undergo an operation to have her spleen removed.
“a light had been switched off”
It was heard during the prosecution that Mr King had failed to pull over on the A14 despite passing four laybys after starting to feel drowsy. He then decided to turn up a slip road where the collision happened. The jury were told that Mr King had no memory of the accident even happening – he stated that after turning off the A14, it felt like “a light had been switched off”.
Mr King has been ordered to pay Mrs Hemy £10,000 in compensation and he has also been banned from driving for three years.
If you have suffered an injury as a result of a road traffic accident, and are looking to claim compensation, please contact us.
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